The Messenger of Osiris
by Queen Nephthys
Summary: While her father and lover go off to war, Isis is left alone. But soon, she is befriended by a masked figure, who promises to guide and protect her. Will she choose Mahad, her past love returned from war, or the mysterious Messenger of Osiris?
1. A Tragic Loss

Alright! So, thanks to all those who read my first fic, "Our First Kiss"! That one was a cute, fluffy little drabble of sorts. This next one will be a full, multichaptered fanfiction full of violence, horror, and some suggestive themes here and there. This was inspired by Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera, but it won't be to the letter. I own nothing, except what I do own, and I do not own yugioh OR Phantom of the Opera! Warnings were aforementioned, so don't like, don't read. The main two pairings will be Pleashipping (MahadxIsis) and Floatshipping (Thief BakuraxIsis). OCs are used. U HAVE BEEN WARNED!

I dedicate this fic to my sis, Rhoades (AndromedaeDecepticon on DeviantART), Who loves Phantom of the Opera as much as I love Pleashipping! On with the fic!

* * *

><p>The capital looked so beautiful from here, especially during this time of day when Ra was just ascending into the skies, and the land was bathed in his golden light. The royal city lay just beneath where they stood on that giant dune of sand, with the Nile located just behind it. It was one of the most beautiful things Isis had ever seen in all her sixteen years.<p>

They had travelled through the night to reach the city, she, her father, a few servants, and two escorts, personal guards of the Pharaoh himself. It had been her father's idea, and it seemed that he was right: this view had certainly been worth the journey through the night, braving thieves and wild beasts to get here. Not that she had been worried; her father had kept in the company of many less-than-acceptable characters in his youth, and knew just how to deal with those sorts. There had not been a single doubt as to their safety.

"Well." Her father said with a smirk, riding up to Isis on his horse, "didn't I tell you the view would be worth it?"

She didn't want to respond at first. Really, she wasn't in the best of moods as it was. The view was nice, and soothing in a way, but she knew her father was just trying to lift her spirits by doing all this. She had been to the royal city numerous times already since her childhood, she had even been inside the palace! Both of her parents were part of the Pharaoh's Sacred Court, as well as guardians of two of the eight Millennium Items. Her mother lived in the Palace, but her father absolutely hated being trapped in one place for too long (Isis guessed such anxieties stemmed from his previous life as a thief), so he was always travelling to different cities across Egypt, sometimes to even different countries. Eventually, the Pharaoh had put him in charge of diplomacies. The rumor had been that he had done so only because he had gotten fed up of him leaving the palace without notice, and the two had fought and bartered, rather humorously as said by the palace servants, until they had come to this compromise.

For the first few years of her life, Isis had lived in the palace and had been cared for by her mother. But soon, her father began to take her whenever he went on these diplomatic missions for the Pharaoh. Honestly, she enjoyed it very much. She had never been particularly close to him before because he was always coming and going, and never stayed with she and her mother for longer than a few days. Now, they had become closer, and she fully thought of him as her father, and didn't just say the word as though it were a title. They had been travelling to her father's birth village not two days ago to visit with her aunt. That was when the escorts had arrived, requesting their immediate return to the palace this day. And that was where they were now.

The truth was, her mother had died. Just the day after they had left. Isis knew that she had been sick, but she had never expected her to die from a simple flu. Many people were able to recover from sickness; it just wasn't fair that her mother didn't. It wasn't fair that she had to die when she and her father weren't there to say goodbye to her. And it wasn't fair that her mother wasn't able to hold on long enough for them to return and do so. She had expressed this to her father, but he had not responded. He just held her and told her they would be returning to the palace for the funerary rites. Now he was trying to distract her with beautiful views and silly games.

"It's still just the capital city. We see it whenever we come back from your diplomatic missions." She responded quietly.

Her father sighed in response to this. "You say that, but I know you think it's beautiful this time of day."

"How can you be so sure?" Isis asked with a raised brow.

"Your mother would have." he stated simply.

Isis didn't respond to this.

"Hey." her father said, reaching over to put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll see her soon enough. You can still say goodbye to her."

"It won't be the same." she replied.

Her father sighed again, and retracted his hand. He wouldn't fight her anymore on the matter. She would feel better eventually. He didn't need to force it on her.

One of the escorts rode up next to them. "Master Seth." he said. "Do you wish to continue, sir? The city is but a short ride away now, and the Pharaoh awaits you."

"Yes, let us make our return." Seth agreed. "Isis, would you care to race your old father to the city gates?"

"I would rather not, father. Forgive me for not being as ambitious of our return as you."

Seth tugged at the reins of his horse gently, bringing the beast to a gentle trot down the slope of the hill. "As you wish." he agreed. "But." he continued, slowly bringing his hand towards the necklace she was wearing. "You will have to if you want your necklace back!" In a flash, he had unclasped the necklace from around her, hitched the reins of his horse, and took off down the hill, with her necklace in hand.

"Father!" Isis exclaimed. "Bring that back! Mother gave that to me!"

"What's that, dearest?" Seth called back. "I can't seem to hear you from all the way over here!"

"I said!" Isis exclaimed, hitching the reins of her own horse and having it run at full speed. "GIVE IT BACK!" She chased after him, not even caring that the rest of their group was either laughing or giving them disapproving looks. Now she was irritated. How could that man be so foolish and carefree? His wife had just died! The woman he had loved more than anything! If she had found out her lover had died, she would be devastated. She _was_ devastated! Her father was just impossible at times!

They ran through the sand, all the way to the city and right up to the gates of the palace. The guards opened the gates for them as they saw them riding up, seeing the raised hand from Seth. He stopped his horse the minute he had entered into the palace walls, and dismounted. Isis did the same, and ran up to him holding her hand out. "Now enough of this foolishness, father. Give me back my necklace!" she said for emphasis.

"You won't have much use for it anymore, Isis."

Isis and Seth turned to see the Pharaoh, Akhenamkhanen walking up to them, along with son, prince Atem. They dropped to the ground immediately, bowing in reverance to his majesty.

"Rise." Akhenamkhanen commanded. "You would be much better off kneeling at your wife's bedside than before me and my son."

"Yes, my lord. Thank you." Seth said, lightly grasping Isis's arm and pulling her up. "And if I may request that we discuss other... matters at a much later date." he gestured to Isis.

"Of course." the Pharaoh agreed. "Please, allow me to escort you to Lady Nephthys. Come along, Atem."

The prince glanced up at his father, looking scared and disgusted. "I don't want to see a dead woman, father!" he complained.

Isis cringed at this. She understood that Atem was still young, no more than eleven or twelve if she remembered correctly, and was not aware of the rudeness of what he had just said. But if he had not been the prince, she surely would have slapped him then.

"Atem!" the Pharaoh scolded. "That is incredibly rude of you to say. Lord Seth and his daughter have just suffered a great loss. Watch your words!"

"I am sorry, father!" Atem exclaimed, looking nervous. Tears started to form in his eyes. "I-I didn't mean to! Really! Do you forgive me?"

"You do not have to apologize to me, Atem. Apologize to Lord Seth and Isis." His father demanded.

"Yes, father." Atem said turning to the other two. "Please forgive me, Master Seth! And you, too, Isis! I didn't mean to insult either of you! I'm sorry."

"That's alright, young Prince." Seth answered. "It was not your intention to be hurtful."

Atem nodded. "It was really sad when my mother died." he continued, looking at Isis rather than at Seth. "So I know how you feel. But if I go with you and father, I would have to see you sad, and I don't like seeing people I know sad, and..."

"We understand, son. We understand." Akhenamkhanen said. "You do not have to join us if that is your wish. But I don't want you roaming around the palace alone, so go seek out Mahad and have him look after you."

"Yes, father." Atem agreed, turning to go back inside the palace.

After he left Akhenamkhanen turned to them. "Atem still remembers his mother's death very clearly. No matter how many times I say the Afterlife is not something to fear, he will not listen to me."

"It is understandable." Seth stated. "You do not have to apologize, Pharaoh, nor does the Prince."

The Pharaoh nodded. "Thank you for your understanding, Seth. Now, please, let me escort you to your wife." The Pharaoh gestured for them to follow him into the Palace, and led them through the corridors. For most of the trip, they seldom talked, and Isis was quiet the entire time, hoping the older men would ignore her presence. She just wanted to be with her mother right now, and the sooner she was able to see her, the less she would have to continue to hold in her tears.

"Isis." The Pharaoh said, turning to her. Isis internally sighed. "How are you holding up, my dear?"

"Well enough, my Pharaoh." she said as respectfully as she could. "Thank you for your concern." He nodded, this response seeming to suffice for him. "You are a very strong young woman, Isis." he added.

"Thank you, my Pharaoh." she responded. This was all, thankfully, that she had to say, as no more was said to her. She allowed her mind to wander as they continued. Servants bowed to them as they passed. She thought she saw some people she knew personally, but didn't pay them any notice. They came to one of the courtyards closest to where the Guardians' chambers were located. Isis looked out at it, taking every single flower, every leaf, every blade of grass, every detail put into the patch of land. This had been one of her mother's favorite places to take her in the palace when she was younger. They would play here, and her mother would tell her stories. Her favorite had always been about a little girl named Nefrit, who was friends with a guardian spirit known as the Messenger of Osiris, who guided and protected those who had lost a loved one to a most devastating tragedy. Isis didn't remember all of the story, but the girl and the guardian's names had always been in her mind.

"MAHAD!"

She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as she heard Atem's voice echo into the courtyard, and turned to see the face of a young man her age turn red before he retreated into the bushes he was standing over. Isis's eyes widened, watching the bushes closely to see if he would reemerge. Had he been watching her? And was he still watching her?

"Mahad!" Atem shouted, running into the courtyard from the corridors on the other side. "What are you doing hiding in the bushes? Come out! Father wants you to look after me!" Isis briefly heard some mumbling that sounded like, _"Be quiet, my Prince. Please!"_, before she turned her head back so that she was facing the corridor again, and tried her best to ignore that that boy might just be spying on her.

"It seems that Atem found Mahad." The Pharaoh stated.

"Yes I was wondering about that." Seth replied with a laugh. "I almost feel sorry for the poor lad! Does the Prince always respond so in the other's presence?"

"Mahad is a new resident at the palace, and Priest Akil's newest apprentice in magic. I've left him with the responsibility of looking after my son for two reasons. The first is that he is old enough and responsible enough to take care of Atem and his rather excitable tendencies. The second is that he is young enough to be a playmate for Atem, and not just a caretaker. The two are very fond of one another, and I would very much like to offer Mahad a place in The court when Atem succeeds me.

_He looks like a creeper!_ Isis thought to herself before following the other two up a flight of stairs. She turned back once more just in time to see a flash of light brown hair disappear into the bushes.

Down two more corridors, and up another flight of stairs. Finally, they reached the Guardians' wing of the palace, where the Pharaoh's court and their families slept. Her parents' bedchamber was to the immediate left of the corridor they were walking down, overlooking the courtyard below. It took all of Isis's strength not to run to that door, break the doors open, and go straight to her mother's side. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and only grew in speed as they grew closer. She felt her father's hands on her shoulders, and knew he felt just the same way. The Pharaoh opened the door for them, and gestured for them to enter. Isis hesitated, now that they were so close, it had become terrifying and unreal. She couldn't believe they were actually about to go into that room and see her mother cold and dead. Her father gently squeezed her shoulders for reassurance.

"Go on, my dearest." he encouraged, "There's nothing in that room you need to fear." His didn't sound as confident as his words.

Isis's feet moved against her will, acting on order. She entered the main room of the bedchamber, and looked around. She took in the familiar setting, seats in one corner, a chaise against the wall next to them. The walls all painted to resemble the Nile and the desert surrounding it, with small cities in the distance. Tables used for holding bowls of fruit and pitchers of water, and statues and boxes of small treasures. Torches used for light at nighttime, scattered around the room. Carpets made of animal furs. This was all she could see before her father pushed her, almost desperately, towards a door on the other side of the room which led to the bedchamber. He released her to pull away the dark curtain that hung in the doorway, and she was the first one to go in.

The bed was bordered on all sides by thick red veils matching the curtain separating this room from the last one. This was the only thing Isis noticed as she walked towards the obstructing pieces of fabric. As she pulled the veil back, she was almost afraid that she would throw up. She was not at all prepared to deal with what she knew was behind. Her efforts yielded a sheet in the center of the bed, covering a very female figure. Isis did not even try to remove the sheet, she already knew what laid beneath, and the stress had finally become too much for her to bear. She let the tears fall, bowing her head so that she did not have to look at the corpse that had once been her mother.

Seth came up and sat down next to her on the bed, the only sadness that was visible was in his eyes. He reached out and slowly lifted the sheet, not wanting to disturb his wife's deceased form in any way. Isis looked up for the briefest second, and her tears turned into full, anguished sobs. She could only partly feel that her father had taken her in his arms, and was slowly rocking her back and forth, whispering hushed comforts to her. He kissed her forehead, and looked back at his wife, his love for almost seventeen years. Never would he have ever guessed that he would outlive her. They had always been reckless, but she had stopped all of her risk taking the day Isis was conceived. He had never changed, or ever tried to, always trying his luck, always gambling with his life. Even Nephthys had never been so extreme in her actions.

He pulled one arm away from his daughter to touch her dark brown hair. Still soft, even in death. He moved his hand down to her cheek, placing his thumb just below her eye. Isis had her mother's eyes, the deep blue. Seth remembered threatening to leave Nephthys if their child did not have her eyes. He had been drunk when he had said this, but he meant it just as well. Her eyes had been her most striking, beautiful feature. And now he would never see those sapphire blue eyes look at him ever again. He felt tears well in his own eyes, but he dare not let them spill, not with his daughter beside him. He had to be strong for her, he couldn't cry until she was gone.

So he just sat there, holding her in his arms, and whispered the same phrases to her over and over again. "...It's alright, now... it's going to be alright...don't be sad...she's moved on to the Afterlife...don't cry, Isis...don't cry..."

But she couldn't stop.

* * *

><p>I was gonna make it longer, but the beginning was longer than I expected it to be. I really got into it, and this is the result. So, Mahad will be properly introduced in the next chapter, as will Mana! Yay! I hope I didn't bore anyone away from this story, and for those of you who read it all the way to this point, bless your hearts! free candy for all! I'll try to write the next chapter ASAP!<p>

R&R at your leisure!


	2. Mahad and Mana

The days after passed by slowly, yet bearably. Isis was left alone by others for the most part, as people would normally give their condolences to her father and ask him to pass them on to her. She was allowed to come and go as she pleased, and no one asked anything of her, but this didn't ease her anxiety in the least. For Isis, the very worst feeling in the world was boredom. With boredom came a sense of sloth, and those who were sloth were useless. And if there was one thing Isis was not, it was useless! That was, at least, what she wanted to think. But she was still depressed from her mother's passing, and she sometimes didn't want to get up in the morning, other times she just wanted to wander aimlessly until she got lost and had to find her way back to her room. Sometimes, she could swear she had visions of her mother in the morning, and dreams of her at night. She was always beautiful and happy, just as she had been in life. If such visions were true, then Isis assumed she had truly gone to exist in the Afterlife, and such thoughts cheered her up a bit. Unfortunately, her mother's death wasn't the only thing she had to fret about.

There was also the issue of her mother's inheritance. Naturally, all her mother's possessions were to be buried with her when she was properly mummified and buried in her tomb. But there were some things she could not be buried with. Such as her Millennium Necklace. The sacred Millennium Items were needed to protect the Pharaoh of Egypt, as well as Egypt's citizens. And now that one of the Item Bearers was dead, a new Guardian had to be chosen to wield the Millennium Necklace. Isis, being Nephthys's only daughter, had the right of birth in her favor, not to mention that she had inherited a little bit of her mother's natural gift of divination. Many in the current Court believed that she was best to take Nephthys' place.

However, the problem lied in the fact that her mother had had an apprentice, to whom had been expected to carry on for her once she had passed. The girl's name was Yamaht. Isis was well acquainted with her; she was a strong, confident, and talented young woman, whose clairvoyant abilities were, at least in Isis's opinion, far more capable than her own. The other half of the Court favored Yamaht over her as well. Yamaht had been trained for the position of priestess, however Isis was Nephthys' daughter, and as such her heir by law. This was wherein the problem lied, as it was being strongly debated over as to which of them was to take the Millennium Necklace as their own. Yamaht had told her not to brood over it too much, but Isis couldn't help herself. Ownership of the Necklace meant a seat in the Pharaoh's Court as priestess, guardian, advisor, protector, and personal clairvoyant to the Pharaoh himself. She had no say in the Court's decision, and if they chose her, she wasn't so sure that she would be able to handle such heavy responsibilities.

And then there was that _boy_! The one whom she had caught spying on her upon her return to the Palace. Yes, she could say without question now that it had been deliberate spying, as that had only been the first time she had caught him these past few days. Sometimes, when she ventured out to the courtyards, she would start to feel like she was being watched. Sure enough, if she was to turn around, there he would be. Immediately, he would either hide from her behind bushes or pillars, or just run away, knowing that his cover had already been blown anyway. Twice, she had become so annoyed by him that she had run after him, and pursued him until he disappeared. And three other times, she had just told him to stop spying on her and ran away herself. If that wasn't enough, she would sometimes wake up in the morning to find a flower at the door of her room. Who else but that creepy boy could be leaving her them? The Pharaoh had said that his name was Mahad. She had asked some of the servants about him, and while many didn't know him, as he was still new to the palace, the few that did called him a charming, polite and quiet boy. Isis had been tempted to tell them otherwise.

Between the Necklace, the boy, and her mother's death, she seldom left her room, and when she did, she only went to her father's room, or the Nile. She wasn't comfortable in the palace courtyards anymore, seeing as they were where a certain brown haired young man tended to show up the most! But today, she was feeling a bit braver, and didn't really care if anyone was watching her or not. She felt like going out to the courtyard, and she wasn't going to let anything keep her. She opened the door to her room and immediately looked down. No flower. That didn't mean much, but it did give an extra boost of confidence to her. She smiled as she got closer to her destination, smelling the familiar smells, hearing the sound of birds in the trees. She got down to the corridor which led out directly to the courtyard. Suddenly, she became a bit paranoid again, and looked around to check if Mahad was anywhere to be seen.

While she didn't see him, there was one particular person that caught her eye. Among the servants cutting through the courtyard, and the higher class individuals taking a morning stroll, she noticed a little girl, who could be no more than five or six. She was wearing a little dress which had the skirt and sleeves pleated at the ends, shoes, and jewelry, which indicated she wasn't a servant. Her brown hair was short and spiky, but it didn't look messy. In fact, it suited her in a way. The girl was reaching for a plum that was clearly too high for her reach. But perhaps the thing that caught Isis's attention most about the girl...

Was that she was so _**cute**_!

Isis probably would have watched the girl for a while longer, had she not run off to somewhere else. Isis assumed that the girl had realized that the challenge was too much for her to meet, and had given up. She was right on all of these accounts but one, as minutes later the girl had returned, pulling two decorative pots behind her. Isis watched for a moment as the child stacked one on top of the other, knowing full well what she planned to do. Nervous of the inevitable outcome, Isis quickly walked over before the girl could start to climb them. The girl noticed her presence immediately, and shyly looked down at her toes.

"Hello." Isis said gently, making sure not to make the girl nervous; young children were shy around strangers, after all. "Might I ask what you're doing with those pots?"

The girl just continued to look down at her toes, green eyes as big as the plums she was trying to acquire. After a moment of silence passed, Isis crouched down to the girl's height, looking into her cute little face.

"Did you lose your tongue to the goddess Isis, little one?" Isis asked with a smile. Her mother had always said that to her when she was young.

"Big brother says I'm not a'sposed to talk to strangers." The girl mumbled, blushing as she did.

Isis continued to smile. "Does your big brother also tell you not to climb on top of pots?"

The girl shook her head. "Only not to hide in them."

Isis laughed at this. What a cute little girl! "Aren't you precious!" she said through her laughter. "Why not just ask someone to get a plum for you. Such a cute little girl should have someone to help her."

"Big brother says I'm not a'sposed to talk to stranger." She repeated.

"Yes, of course." Isis agreed. "So, why not have your brother pick one of those plums for you?"

"He always runs off someplace and leaves me alone." the girl replied. "He's a dummyhead!"

Isis laughed. "That's right." she agreed. "A big dummyhead. Because he doesn't want to be with a cutie like you!" she said, touching her finger to the girl's nose. She started giggling at the touch, and finally raised her eyes to look at Isis.

"Yeah, he's a dummyhead, and I'm a cutie!" she giggled. Isis giggled as well.

"That's right. So, do you want me to help you get one of those plums, then?" Isis asked.

The girl stopped giggling, and went back to staring at the ground. "I can't; remember, I'm not allowed to..."

"Yes, it's not good for you to talk to strangers." Isis agreed. "But if you know who I am, then we're not strangers anymore, are we?"

The girl tilted her head and put a finger on her chin. "Hmm...I guess not." she thought aloud.

"Well then, my name is Isis." Isis said, gesturing to herself. "Now that you know me, can I give you a hand?"

"...Ok, but don't tell my brother." Mana said, "The last time I asked someone to play with me, I got yelled at."

Isis put a finger to her lips. "It's a secret." she promised. "Now, I'm going to lift you up high into the tree, and you can pick as many of those juicy plums as you want."

The girl didn't need any further persuasion, as she let Isis pick her up without protest, and lift her into the branches of the tree. The girl picked as many plums as she could hold in her arms, and tapped Isis on the head when she was ready to come down. Isis slowly lowered her back to the ground.

"My, that's a lot of plums!" Isis exclaimed, noticing the girl's prospect. "Are you going to eat all of those by yourself?"

"Uhhh..." she replied, looking down at the plums. "No." she took one plum out of the pile, and lifted it up to Isis. "This one is for you, 'cause you're so nice!"

"Oh, thank you very much!" Isis said, taking the plum from her. "Now, don't go standing on anymore pots. I would be really sad if I found out you got hurt trying to go after more fruit. Okay?"

"OK!" the girl said. "Bye-bye!"

"Bye-bye!" Isis said with a wave. She continued her walk through the palace, taking bites out of the plum as she went.

~Q.N~

The rest of the day went by very slow compared to the morning encounter with the little girl. Now it was almost suppertime, and the only thing Isis had done the whole day was walk through the palace, mapping out all of its nooks and crannies as she went. She met up with her father briefly, but he had been on his way to the throne room for a meeting among the Guardians. Isis had refused when he had asked if she wanted to join him. She had a feeling she would have to attend each and every meeting soon enough, and she already knew what exactly they were discussing.

So now, having gone through the entire palace, she had no place left to go but the throne room, which she had already classified as taboo, and the magician's wing, which she had saved for last. It was one of her favorite places in the palace. The magician's wing always smelled of an aroma that Isis could only describe as pure magic. The air was always thick with smoke from incense and spells alike. Occasionally, the floor would be covered in various powders, liquids and colors, sometimes even the walls. That was what Isis enjoyed about it: it was never the same place twice; something was always changing, always brewing. It was exciting. Isis had never been taught magic along with her other studies, but she wished that she had. After all, she had been taught everything from etiquette to combat, so why not magic, too? Even just the basics would have pleased her. So she would often travel down to the magician's wing, just to catch a glimpse of what spells the magicians did.

Most of them were just apprentices, trained by Master Akil, who had been a participant of the ritual performed to create the Millennium Items. In addition, he wore the Millennium Ring. Isis didn't like him, personally, but she could not deny that he was a very skilled sorcerer. So, too, were all of his apprentices.

As Isis continued down the corridor, she peeked into every room, checking to see if any of the apprentices were currently training, but almost all of the rooms were empty. Those that were not had the older, fully trained sorcerers in them, either meditating or reading. Isis just kept walking, hoping they wouldn't notice her. Unlike the apprentices, they didn't have a sense of humor, and wouldn't allow her to watch them perform their magic. Though, with all due respect, Isis suspected the only reason the apprentices let her watch was to flirt with her. Men...

A loud, sudden crash broke Isis from her thoughts, and she looked towards where the origins of the noise were, the room she had just passed. She had sworn that there had been no one in that room, but perhaps she hadn't noticed. The rooms were so big, after all, it was easy to overlook something, or someone. She walked back to the room, and looked inside. Of all the things that it could have been, she never would have guessed the surprising reality of it.

A shelf full of scrolls had fallen down, which explained the crash. Scrolls were scattered all over the place. There were pieces of broken clay pots underneath the shelf. Barely an inch away from this destructive scene, there was a little girl, lying face-first on the ground, crying loudly. Isis recognized her instantly by the spiky brown hair: it was the little girl from earlier that day. Immediately, Isis could guess of what happened. The girl had been trying to grab for something at the top of the shelf, and was unable to due to her height, just like with the plums. So, she used the only trick she knew of, and stacked pots on top of each other to reach the top. This backfired on her, and this was the result.

"Are you alright?" Isis asked none too calmly, running over to the girl and kneeling at her side. The girl responded by looking up, and continuing to cry. Isis didn't need a further answer. She quickly picked the child up and started gently rocking her as she continued to cry into her shoulder.

"Hush, now. It's alright. You're safe." Isis started to soothe, turning her words into a gentle lullaby. Isis loved singing, and she found it to be the best way to reach out to others, especially younger children. "I'm here, so you don't have to cry. You'll feel better soon." As the girl started to slowly calm down, Isis checked for any injuries, but was relieved to find the girl all in one piece. She continued to sing until the girl stopped crying completely. She looked up at Isis, with a little smile. She was still sniffling a bit, but Isis could tell that everything was well.

"There, now. Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"MANA!" A voice suddenly yelled from behind Isis. "WHAT have you done now? How many times have I told you that you are NOT allowed in the magician's wing? Do you want Master Akil to throw you into the dungeons like last time? You know that I can't be held responsible for you!"

Within seconds, the girl was back to bawling her eyes out again. Isis was a little irritated by this. This guy had some nerve, yelling at a sad little girl like that. And just as she had gotten her to calm down, no less!

"Hey!" Isis exclaimed, turning to face the man. "I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right to be yelling at a cute little girl like that!" She rose to her feet, with the girl, apparently named Mana, still in her arms. She cuddled Mana closer to her, and stared down the man, almost daring him to argue with her on the matter.

Isis hadn't expected what the young man did next, though. Instead of protesting her, his eyes widened as though in shock, and a deep red blush appeared on his face. Immediately, he adjusted to a more submissive stance, shoulders slack, head bowed, and eyes looking everywhere but at her. Isis didn't understand why. The boy was taller than her by a good inch or two, and clearly had a better physical build on him. Was he uncomfortable with fighting a woman? Isis tried to read him, but his violet eyes were hidden by a fringe of light brown hair.

Suddenly, it struck Isis like a bolt of lightning. She _recognized_ him! He was the very same boy who had been following her around the palace since she returned. Of all the people it could have been, that she could have run into, it just _had_ to be him!

"Hey, I know you!" Isis exclaimed, and watched as the boy jumped at her confrontation. "You're that boy who's been _stalking_ me around the palace for the past week!"

"N-n-n-no! No way! I-I-I-I-I haven't been stalking you!" He denied. "I've just been...just-just been..." He quickly tried to think of a way to get out of this situation unscathed, all the while cursing his bad luck. Of all the people it could have been, that he could have run into, it just _had_ to be her!

"I should have known immediately!" Isis continued to scowl. "Only a creepy guy like you could have yelled at a precious girl like that!"

The minute she said this, it felt like something had broken inside him. Isis felt the change in mood instantly, and was a little nervous.

"C-creepy?" Mahad said quietly. "She thinks I'm creepy?"

Before Isis could reply, Mahad had huddled himself into a corner, murmuring to himself, his face a mask of despair.

"She thinks I'm creepy. That's it; there's no question about it. A pretty girl like that thinks that I'm creepy! This is the end. I'm doomed for the rest of my life. I'll always be the creepy guy that no girl will ever like." he ranted.

_Wow_, Isis thought, _does this one know how to make a person feel guilty of what?_ She hadn't meant to totally crush his spirit like that. To be fair, however, she also hadn't expected him to crack on her. As far as other men her age went, she was used to more of a fight, physical or verbal, whenever she insulted them. This one was just wallowing in self-pity. She really felt bad for him. Was he just naturally that socially awkward that he couldn't talk to someone in person, or except negative comments? And all this time, she had thought that he had been following her, trying to get her alone with him. Obviously, she had assumed wrong.

"H-hey..." she said slowly. "You, ah, don't have to be so hard on yourself. I just... got a little irritated, but I don't hate you. Really! That was cruel of me to say, so can you forgive me?"

_I'm going to kick myself later for this, I know it!_

It seemed to work, however, as the boy slowly turned back towards her. They just stared at one another for a moment, until Mahad finally sighed and stood up.

"Please, don't apologize." he said. "You have every right to be mad at me. I should be the one apologizing, really. I mean, I've been following you around the palace, like you said. " when he admitted this, the dark red blush from before returned to his face, and he looked away, ashamed. For a moment, Isis thought it was cute. "And I completely understand why you would think that I'm... I'm..."

"A big DUMMYHEAD!" Mana chimed in suddenly.

"She may have a right to judge me, but YOU don't, missy!" Mahad yelled back, to which Mana replied by sticking out her tongue.

"Big brother is a big dummyhead!" she repeated.

Isis glanced down at the girl. It just _couldn't _be!

"Big brother?" She asked, turning her gaze back to Mahad. "You mean _this_ is your big brother?" It seemed impossible, and yet it made perfect sense all at once.

"Unfortunately." Mahad agreed, holding his arms out. Isis was a bit reluctant, but nonetheless relinquished the girl to Mahad. He embraced her, almost as if he had done it a thousand times before. The girl squirmed in his arms, a clear pout etched into her face. She didn't like the change of position at all.

"I think it's about time I should introduce myself properly. My name is Mahad, and I just arrived at the palace no more than two weeks ago. And _this_ little troublemaker..." He gestured down to the girl with a disapproving scowl on his face. "...is my little sister, Mana. I'm her guardian, seeing as our parents are no longer alive."

Mana chose this moment to hook her tiny fingers into Mahad's mouth and pulled at his lips, her face still looking cranky.

"Mahad is a dummy! A big stupid dummy!" she exclaimed.

Isis giggled at that. "She doesn't seem too happy with you." she stated.

"That's because I won't let her do whatever she wants." Mahad said contritely. "She shouldn't be wandering the palace alone, because she just keeps creating messes like this." He gestured to the fallen shelf. "Now, did you get hurt?"

Mana shook her head. "I'm ok! Let me go! I don't wanna be with you. I wanna be with the pretty girl! I like her more better than I like you!"

"Fine with me." He looked at Isis wearily. "Would you mind holding her for a while longer? Apparently, she likes you best." he said the last part with a hint of sarcasm. "In any event, I need to clean this mess up before someone sees it."

"I don't mind at all." Isis agreed, holding her arms out to receive the girl. "But would you prefer that I help you with..."

"I'm grateful for the kind offer." Mahad said, "But this is nothing too serious. It should take no more than a few moments to fix with my heka."

_Heka?_ Isis thought excitedly. So then, this meant that he was a sorcerer? Now that she thought of it, she had heard someone mention at one point that Mahad was under the tutelage of Priest Akil. Isis looked on intently as Mahad silently conjured a spell. Without words, or even gestures from the young man, the shelf reset itself against the wall instantly, the scrolls organized themselves perfectly, the pots were restored to new condition, plant reeds appeared magically inside them, arranged just-so. Isis was awestruck once the magic was finished; everything looked so perfectly, you never would have guessed there had ever been an accident! She had seen a great deal of magic tricks performed before, but nothing ever as sophisticated as this! It was surprising to find someone so unusually timid had such powerful heka within him.

"That was incredible." Isis said softly, walking up to Mahad. He glanced down at her, clearly surprised by the compliment, and blushed again.

"Th-that really wasn't anything special." he replied. "Anyone could do that with enough practice."

"Well I've never seen anything like it before, so I think it's wonderful." She said with a smile.

Mahad's blush deepened, and he looked away."W-well, that's very kind of you to say...anyway, I should probably...I mean, I don't think I should...goodbye." he said, hurrying out the door before another word could be said.

"Wait!" Isis cried before she could think. The boy turned back to see Isis walking towards him with Mana still in her arms, though she looked like she was getting tired.

"Yes?" What is it?" Mahad asked politely. "I-if you want to talk about me following you, then let me say you have my deepest apologies and my reassurance that it won't happen again!"

"As nice as that is, that's not what I wanted to say." Isis replied, a light blush forming on her face as well. "Actually, it's quite the opposite. I wanted to apologize for how rude I was to you earlier, as well as for misjudging you. I hadn't expected you to be such a nice person."

Mahad shook his head. "No, that was my own fault. And I truly am sorry for scaring you like that. I just..." he paused for the longest time, unsure of how to say thins to her without having her laugh at him, or scare her away again.

"Just...?" Isis encouraged him, curious for the reason behind his actions.

After a long, deep breath to steady himself, Mahad continued. "Well...you are so...uh, well... so _pretty_! I've never seen a woman as beautiful as you before, and so... please, don't think bad of me for saying that!" he added quickly "I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable, I just think you deserve to know the truth, and the truth is that...I've seen what a kind, wonderful person you are, and...well, I...I _like_ you!"

"Then why not just say it?" Isis asked, her blush growing.

Mahad sighed. "Because, you are such a wonderful woman, and... I'm nothing like you. I mean, you even said it yourself, and you're right. I am creepy! I was too afraid to talk to you myself, so I started following you just so I could be close to you. What reason could I give you to even notice me, much less like me back?"

Isis didn't know how to respond to such a statement. It was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever told her, and when she thought of it, one of the sweetest things anyone had ever _done_ for her, too! She really had misjudged him. How was it that she had never suspected this young man might just like her? Why did she assume so quickly that he was just some common pervert? When in reality, all the time he had been watching her, trying to know more about her, instead of just ogling her. She looked at his eyes, and they only strengthened the honesty of his statement. Honesty was something not many people had. He really was a good person, too.

"You should have said something." Isis said with a smile. "I think you would be a wonderful friend, Mahad."

"Really?" Mahad said, not believing at all what he had just heard. Such a beautiful girl, wanting to be friends with him? He must have heard her wrong!

She nodded in confirmation. "I think you're very sweet. And I don't have a reason to not be friends with you."

"But you said..."

"I apologized, didn't I?" Isis asked.

"I guess, but I still feel like you..." Mahad muttered.

Isis sighed. "If you are that worried about it, why don't you make a promise to me?" she proposed.

"A promise?" Mahad asked.

"That's it. I'll be friends with you, but in return, you have to promise me that you will let me watch you perform your magic sometimes."

"...Is that all?" Mahad asked.

"That's all."

Mahad thought about this for a moment. It didn't seem like enough, but she probably made it that way purposely. Clearly, she wasn't uncomfortable with him anymore, and this thought made him very happy.

"Then it's a promise!" he said with a smile.

Isis smiled back. "I'm happy to hear it." A long awkward silence followed this, as the two tried to think of something to say to the other. Mana had finally fallen asleep in Isis's arms, and wasn't interested in their conversation, anyway. Mahad was the first to break the tension of the moment.

"...Oh, that's right!" He started. "I never asked you for your name."

Isis was surprised at this. "You've been following me for the last week, and you still don't know my name?" she asked.

Mahad blushed and started to madly apologize. "Forgive me, I-I had been so caught up in you that I...no, what I mean is...I never."

Isis giggled, and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, I had no intention of unnerving you again!" she laughed. "I understand. My name is Isis."

"Isis..."

"...I'm not too fond of the name either...all things considered." she admitted.

"No, no!" Mahad said quickly. "It's the perfect name for someone as beautiful as you!"

They both blushed when he said that, and turned away from one another quickly.

"D-did I really just say that?" he asked aloud.

"I-it's quite alright!" Isis stated with a squeak. What he had said, so bold, yet so timid at the same time, it was endearing to her, and caused her heart to swoon a bit more over the boy. And now that she was looking at him properly, she also couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. He had a very charming face, and a very gentle voice. Isis shook her head. Was it really possible to go from hating someone to loving them within a single day? Surely not! But if so, then why did she feel this way?

"A-anyway...Isis." Mahad continued slowly. "I...take it you like magic?"

Isis nodded. "It was something I was never taught amongst my other studies as a child, so it has always interested me." she explained.

"So it is something you would like to learn?" Mahad indulged.

"Yes..well, no. Not exactly." Isis began. "I mean, it would be interesting to be able to perform the basics, but I don't think I would want to commit the rest of my life to the art." she explained.

"Just the basics, eh?" Mahad asked. "It's not that hard to do, really, even the advanced spells are made easy with enough concentration and practice."

"Of course, you can say that." Isis stated. "I bet you've never had any troubles with magic."

"Truthfully, I have to agree with you." Mahad confessed. "But it can still be done with anyone."

"Is that so?" she asked.

"Absolutely." He assured. "...If you would like, I could teach you some of what you call, 'the basics'. If you wish for me to, of course."

Isis looked at him, slightly stunned. "Really?" she asked.

"I see no reason why not." he stated. "I can teach you some of the beginner level magic, and you can watch me perform the more advanced spells."

"That would be wonderful!" Isis beamed at him. He returned her smile, unable to help himself. She really was a beauty. Her smile was so radiant, it seemed like she had a glowing aura around her. He couldn't believe he could be spending so much time with a woman like this. Her eyes were beautiful, too; a deep, sapphire blue. Her hair was long and silky, groomed to perfection. Her lips looked so full and soft, so _tempting_! He couldn't help but wonder what they tasted like.

He quickly shook these thoughts off, before they took control of him. How could he think such inappropriate things about her? There was no way in this life that such a girl would let him get away with it, anyway!

Or would she?

"But...could I...could I maybe ask a favor in return?" Mahad asked, suddenly feeling bold. Perhaps she would let him...

"What is it?" Isis asked.

"Well...you see, I've always been somewhat nervous around... that is, I've never actually... ah, let's just say for now that you are the only female I have ever talked to for this long." He stuttered sheepishly.

"...Alright." Isis replied, not really understanding where this was going.

"It's just, you're very... attractive, and I just think that it's embarrassing that I'm as old as I am and I've never actually...well..." he continued to stammer.

"Mahad, whatever you want to ask, you can just come out and say it." Isis insisted.

"Y-yes, of course. Well, then, what I want to ask is if you would... I would be, honored to share my first... kiss with you!" he choked out.

"You...you want me to kiss you?" Isis asked quietly, almost thinking she had heard him wrong. She was surprised by the bold request, but even more surprised by the fact that... she didn't mind at all.

Unable to control herself, she burst out laughing. She didn't understand why, but it had just come out of her. Something about the way he was asking, and what he was asking, and how willing she was to oblige, her first reaction to such a humorous situation was laughter. She mentally scolded herself, however. She had to stop herself, before she gave him the wrong idea. She slowly calmed herself down, taking deep breaths.

"Is that really all you want?" Isis asked. "That's not a problem at al-!" She paused, realizing that she didn't have to say anything.

He had disappeared.

Isis looked all around the corridor, inside all the closest rooms to her, but clearly he had left the magician's wing. This was bad; it was obvious that he had misunderstood her. She didn't blame him. If she was in his place, she would feel humiliated right now, too. She had to make sure that she could talk to Mahad tomorrow about this. If she was lucky, he would still want to kiss her.

Isis blushed, realizing her thoughts were drifting again. She looked down at the sleeping Mana, who was muttering some incoherent things in her sleep. Though Isis realized she understood a few words perfectly.

"Mahad...you dummyhead..."

"He's not the only one." Isis thought aloud, leaning against the wall.

* * *

><p>I hope everyone enjoyed chapter 2 of The Messenger of Osiris! For those of you who are thinking that Mahad's a total pansy, I intend to add more depth to his character in future chapters. Actually, it's hard characterizing him like this, because he's so damn charming! ^W^ I hope everyone out there had a happy thanksgiving; I know I did!<p>

R&R at your leisure!


	3. Weakness

I feel so bad for not updating this sooner. Granted, I have had to do a lot of crap for my English class; unnecessary stuff, even. But I think the worst of it is over for now, so I have a little more time to work on this story until the midterm exams happen in another week or two. But, more importantly, everyone probably wants to find out what happens next in this story, so, without further ado, I give you Chapter 3!

* * *

><p>The next day, Isis had searched the palace for Mahad, enlisting the help of Mana to determine where he might be. They had looked through all of the obvious places, and then to the less obvious. No matter where they searched, however, the result was always the same. They never found him. So Isis gave up when night came around, and promised herself to look the next day. The following day bore similar results, and the day after that, and the next few days to come.<p>

By this time around, Isis was feeling very upset. The week was almost up, and she hadn't seen Mahad anywhere. She had wondered sometimes if he had left the palace, but that could not have been the case. The flowers were still left at her doorstep every morning. She would collect them and keep them at her bedside stand, praying on each new one she received that Mahad would show up again. He never did, and she wanted to truly believe that they would meet again, but it was becoming less and less likely the longer she didn't see him.

Today, she was playing with Mana in one of the courtyards. Mana hadn't seemed as enthusiastic about trying to find Mahad as Isis had hoped. In Mana's eyes, she now had someone who would play with her and not run off to be with his older, male friends like Mahad most likely did, so the prospect of finding someone who wouldn't play with her didn't really sound like fun.

"Have you seen your big brother this morning?" Isis had been asking this every morning now for the last few days.

Mana shook her head. "He left early this morning. I think he tried to wake me up, but I don't 'member." She looked at Isis and smiled a big smile. "Let's play hide-and-seek! I wanna play hide-and-seek!"

Isis smiled, though she wasn't too fond of the idea. She was tired of the game after playing it for a whole week with Mahad, and evidently losing. "Alright, that sounds fun! Do you want me to go hide?"

"Nuh-uh!" Mana exclaimed. "I have to hide, 'cause I can't count past ten. You have to find me. Ok?"

"Alright, I'll do that." She sighed. "How high do you want me to count?"

"Uh... count to fifty hundred!" Mana announced, extending her arms out like a bird about to take flight. "That's a big number!"

"Mana," Isis started with a laugh, "It will take days for me to count to fifty hundred, and then you would be hiding for days in the same place."

"Really? Ok, then count to... uh... one hundred hundred!"

"How about I just count to one hundred?" Isis offered. "That will give you plenty of time to find a good hiding place somewhere close by, so I don't have to search the entire palace for you."

"Good idea! Usually, Mahad counts to one hundred hundred, and then he searches the _whole_ palace looking for me, but he never finds me!"

Isis had a feeling he just told her to hide, and took off when he knew she had found a hiding spot.

"Ok, stand in front of that tree, close your eyes, and count to one hundred!" Mana ordered. Isis followed the command, and waited for the sound of little feet running away from her before she started to count. She decided to teach Mana how to count to at least fifty after this. She really didn't know why she had liked this game when she was Mana's age.

When she finally got up to one hundred, Isis opened her eyes and looked around. Obviously, Mana wouldn't have stayed in the courtyard, but where would she hide? She knew it had to be somewhere anyone could have access to, as Mana was regularly scolded by Master Akil and some of the other priests and soldiers for being in certain places. Isis guessed the girl was no stranger to trouble, or anyone else for that matter.

Isis decided to look in the closest place first, and sneaked a peek around the other side of the tree she had been forced to stand in front of. Mana wouldn't be behind there; her footsteps had gone off in the other direction, but it would have been a clever hiding space, certainly one Isis had utilized once when playing hide-and-seek with the other children who lived in the palace when she was younger.

She did, however, spot someone she recognized, and her heart instantly sped up from both disbelief and happiness. The young man's back was turned to her, but Isis instantly recognized the person as Mahad. He almost turned to leave the courtyard, but Isis could not allow that. Quickly, she snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist to hold him in place. Mahad stiffened instantly and let out a slight gasp, turning his head around.

"You don't have to seem so surprised." Isis commented.

"I-Isis?" Mahad exclaimed.

"Who were you expecting? Atem? Or maybe your sister?"

"Actually, I... yes." He admitted. "You were the last person I was expecting to..." He stopped his exclamation with a sigh and looked over her shoulder. "What are you doing, anyway?"

Thinking he was referring to their current position, Isis blushed and backed away a little, but didn't let go of his robes in case he was planning on making an escape. "I've been meaning to talk to you for days now. Where have you been all this time?"

"I'm sorry!" he immediately responded. "I-I've been...uh...b-busy! Yes! Busy with my training! Master Akil has had me meditating in the temple to instill focus, and..."

"So you haven't been purposely avoiding me, then?" Isis asked, coming around to face him, moving her hands from his back and over his shoulders to rest on his chest. She realized that the gesture had been a bit more provocative than she had intended for it to be.

Mahad started to blush as well, both from her accusation and the movement of her hands over him. "Wh-wh-why would I be avoiding y-you?" He said, hands trembling as he did.

Isis shrugged. "Maybe because you're upset with me?" she supplied.

"That's not true!" Mahad stated.

"Then why have you been avoiding me?"

"I never said I was!" he said defensively.

"And you never said you weren't." Isis relied simply. Mahad was quiet after that. "Well," she continued, "Are you going to continue to lie to me, or are you going to come out and tell me the truth?" she asked, purposely making her voice quiver so that she sounded hurt.

This proved effective, as Mahad instantly looked into her eyes, his own looking surprised and upset at how sad she sounded. His expression softened after a minute, and he bowed his head in submission.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Isis lowered her head so that Mahad was looking in her eyes again. "Don't be." she told him. "It's my fault."

"No, don't say tha-!" Mahad started.

"No, Mahad, it's my fault for laughing. I hadn't meant to; it just came out."

"Th-that's not why I..."

"But it is, isn't it?" He fell quiet again after this.

Isis smiled. "More importantly, I believe I still owe you a kiss." Mahad reddened again, his eyes directing to her lips. "I mean, if you still _want_ it."

"Uh... y-yeah, I..." he stuttered nervously. "I do, b-but..."

"Consider it an apology." she said before leaning up to him. Her lips were almost against his, before his hands fell on her shoulders and gently pushed her away. Isis looked up at Mahad, slightly confused. He still had some anxiety in his eyes, which she was beginning to think was standard for him, but there was some determination in them now, too. He swallowed, and his eyes darted from side to side.

"Well, if you're alright with it." he said. "But I want to be the one to kiss you."

Isis smirked. She wanted to laugh again, but this time bit her tongue. "Typical man." she joked. Mahad smiled shyly at this comment. "Like I said, I owe it to you."

That being said, she closed her eyes and inched her head forward slightly, anxiously awaiting his warm lips on hers. Mahad glanced nervously at her again. He had never even talked to a girl before meeting Isis the other day, much less _kissed_ one. He didn't even know if he was a good kisser! Was it possible to fail at something so simple? Had Isis ever been kissed before? Would she laugh at him if he didn't do it right?

Did she have a boyfriend? One that would beat him up if they found out he had touched her?

Mahad guessed no for those last two questions, but all the others were swimming in circles in his mind at such a dizzying pace that he was sure he'd become sick. Prolonging it, however, would make him look like an even bigger idiot to her than he already was, so he leaned towards her in spite of the questions and feelings of nausea.

He was about to close his eyes and press his lips to hers, when the corner of his eye saw something, and he was forced to back away. Of all the times to run into some of the boys in his magic classes, now was by far the _worst_. If they caught him with Isis, he could never show himself in the Palace, in _Egypt_, ever again! So quickly, but reluctantly, he fled from the scene, choosing to hide in the closest place he could find, behind a stone pillar.

He glanced around the pillar, and saw the boys entering the courtyard, laughing and bragging to one another about one thing or another. One of the boys suddenly stopped and nudged the boy next to him, before gesturing over to Isis, who at this point had noticed his disappearance, and was looking around for him, looking confused about why he had once again vanished.

"Where did that boy run off to now?" she mumbled under her breath. _And why?_ she wondered. She really hoped he wasn't going to make a habit out of this. This disappearing act was beginning to irritate her.

"Isis; where have you been hiding all this time?" came a voice from behind her.

She turned around to see who it was that was speaking to her: one of the magicians in training, flanked by two of his friends. She knew all of them, and had watched them in their training before. Unfortunately, she wasn't interested in their flirting at the moment.

"Who said I was hiding?" she asked quickly.

"Well we haven't seen you lately, so it's the only logical explanation." another one of the boys said, seeming put off by her lack of interest in any of them.

"I've been busy." she replied.

"Yeah, we heard that the court wants you to be the new priestess of the Millennium Necklace. Congratulations, but we hope you won't forget about us!"

"That's hard to do right now." she muttered. "But if you wouldn't mind, boys, I'm a little preoccupied at the moment."

"Anything we can help you with?" the one boy offered, and the others nodded their approval. Isis sighed.

"Well, I take it you know Mahad, since he's one of Master Akil's apprentices. I was just talking with him when he disappeared. Any chance you saw where he went?"

The first boy scoffed, "Probably hiding in some dark room where no one can see him."

"Or running away from his big, scary little sister." another one added.

"Let's not bring little Mana into this." the last boy protested. "At least she knows how to use a sword."

"Mahad wouldn't be able to pick one up!" the boys broke out in laughter. Much to Isis's chagrin.

She narrowed her eyes at the three. "What gives any of you the right to talk about Mahad in such a way?" she demanded. "I'll have you know, from what I've seen of him..."

"The only thing anyone ever sees of Mahad is his back as he's running away from them!"

"Except for the prince; he's honored enough to see the top of his head since he's always licking the dirt off that brat's shoes! Of course you know..." The boy continued. "He'd rather be licking something _else_!" More laughter ensued.

Isis's cheeks turned pink at that last comment, though she tried to ignore it. Why were boys so immature? "If your master were to hear this, I know you would think twice about your words!"

The one boy shook his head. "If Master Akil were here, he would agree with us. Mahad's weak; all the apprentices and master magicians know that, Isis. He runs from conflict, and takes orders from anyone. If you told him to jump into the Nile, I guarantee he'd much sooner jump than protest."

"Well then, that makes him twice the man that you three are." Isis exclaimed, raising her nose a little. "I'm done talking to all of you; you've wasted enough of my time as it is!"

As Isis turned to leave the courtyard, the boy closest to her grabbed her wrist and pulled her back in their direction. Having not expected this, Isis easily bent to the boy's will, and she was pressed against the tree she had been standing in front of minutes ago.

"Let me go right now!" she demanded. "I'm done playing games!"

"But the game's just begun, Isis." he sneered. "And we were having such a good time. Why ruin it now?"

"You know, it wasn't nice to insult us." the boy to the right of the one who was holding her against the tree said. "I think you should make it up to us with a kiss." The boy next to him laughed and puckered his lips.

"I'd rather kiss a serpent!" she shot back before spitting in her captor's eye. She struggled against him, but he was too strong. She had to resort to her wits. "When my father hears about this, you'll all have your filthy hands cut off!"

"When your father hears about this, you'll no longer be a virgin!" he retorted, pushing his body against hers.

"Hold on... isn't that going too far?" his one friend asked, backing away slightly. "I mean... we're just _teasing_ her, right?" his friend gave no response to this.

"Hey, we can't hurt her!" The last boy said, tugging on the boys arm, trying to pull him off her. "Think about this; her father's one of the Sacred Guardians! He has the power to put us in the dungeons."

"That's the least of our worries!" the boy to the right snapped. "He's the one that used to be an infamous criminal. I heard that he murdered men for just looking at him the wrong way! Just think what he'll do if he finds out we hurt his _daughter_!"

"Would you two babies shut up?" their friend asked. His right hand wrapped around her wrists and the left one ran down her body. "I'm not going to hurt her; I'm just going to make the little bitch regret she didn't listen to me!" Still his companions hesitated, half wanting to run, half wanting to stay for the sake of their dignity.

"What's wrong with you two?" he demanded. "You're both about as weak as Mahad!"

A fist suddenly came into contact with his jaw, and he flew backward from the force of the blow, not before relinquishing his hold on Isis. All eyes turned in shock to the man who had the nerve to strike him down: Mahad. His fists were glowing with his magic and his face was the look of pure anger. He could tolerate the insults, but hurting Isis had sent him into a fit of rage, until he couldn't control himself anymore. He knew he wasn't supposed to let his emotions get the better of him, but he would have to make an exception this once.

"Then that must make them twice the man that you are." he said darkly.

Angry and humiliated at being knocked down, the boy got to his feet and ran at Mahad. "You're going to pay for that, bastard!" he shouted. He brought his hand into a fist and aimed at Mahad's face. But Mahad was faster, and he caught the fist in his hand. The audience continued to stare in amazement. Mahad just continued to glare daggers into his opponent's eyes, oblivious to those around him.

"I believe an apology's in order." his voice was deadly now. "Why don't you get down on your knees and lick the dirt off my shoes."

His opponent only laughed in response. "Is this some sort of joke?"

" I know you would rather be licking something _else_, but I'm just too good for you."

"You bastard!" the boy sneered, and lashed at him with his free hand. Mahad avoided the assault by using his magic to halt the boy's assaulting hand an inch from his face. He closed his eyes, looking bored now.

"So, I take it that's a no." he said calmly. "Suit yourself." The frozen hand suddenly came back to life, only its attack was sent back at its master, who was thrown to the ground once again. As he rose to his feet again, his other hand punched him in his stomach, and he once more plummeted into the dirt, this time face-first. His left hand grabbed his hair, pulling his face out of the ground, but then pushed it back into the dirt with enough force to break his nose. This act was repeated several times until it was obvious that the boy was no longer conscious. All the while the other boys and Isis simply stared, unsure of what to do.

When Mahad had finished his attack, he turned to the other two apprentices, who flinched at his stony gaze.

"Who's next?" he asked.

"Don't hurt us!" They shrieked, and ran to the corridor they had come from. They didn't get far when Mahad sent blasts of magic energy at them, hitting their targets square on. Said targets cried out and continued to run away until their cries could no longer be heard.

Isis and Mahad were alone in the courtyard once more. She looked at him, too stunned for any words. He turned to face her, his eyes strong but not cold as they had been when facing those boys who had been harassing her. She jumped a little from the intensity of his gaze, but could not take her eyes away from him. He was so different than he had been only minutes ago. He didn't have the slightest look of guilt or embarrassment about him. His shoulders were strong, like when she had seen him scolding Mana the other day. He looked so confident and strong, and Isis couldn't help but blush from the way his stare seemed to go right through her and reveal all of her inhibitions and her deepest secrets. It was slightly intimidating, and oddly enough, she had never been more attracted to someone in her entire life.

Suddenly he was walking towards her, and she backed herself away on instinct. But he did not stop his advancement, and he stopped only when he was right in front of her, staring down at her with that intimidating glare.

"M-Mahad." she stammered. She felt herself shrink back a little, her back lightly brushing against the bark of that tree that she was beginning to loathe so much. "I-I-I-"

"Am mine." he breathed out.

"Wh-what?" she asked, dumbfounded. She must have heard him wrong.

"You." he repeated, leaning his face towards her. "Are." As his face drew nearer, her heart beat increased until it hurt, but the pain was quickly numbed as she felt his breath against her cheek. "_**Mine**_." he whispered that last word seductively against her lips before pulling her body close to his and forcefully pressing his lips against hers. His tongue ran against her immediately and she parted her lips to give him better access. She had never expected him to kiss like this. When he had asked to kiss her, she had expected a short, shy touch of the lips. This was different, though. This was a heated, passionate embrace between them. He didn't just press his lips to hers. His hands ran all over her body, boldly touching and caressing whatever they pleased. His tongue and teeth clashed against hers in a battle for dominance. His body pressed so close to hers she could feel his heart pounding against her chest. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head in ecstasy, and her body melted against his. Her mind completely clouded over, only the feeling of his lips against hers remained. Never had she known such pleasure.

Their kiss did not break for some time, but he was the one to break it. Isis breathed in shakily and uneven, as though the idea of breathing was an entirely new concept to her. It may as well have been, because at that moment, she barely remembered her own name. Mahad breathed calmly, however, as though the passionate kiss had never happened. His hands were in her hair when they had broken from each other, and he slid them through the silky tresses. His eyes locked with her misty ones. Her jaw was slightly slack, as though she were in a trance. He smirked.

"And don't you ever forget it." he finished, before walking away.

Isis stood there for several more minutes, her mind still resetting after what had occurred. What had just happened? Had he really just kissed her? Had that confident, brazen young man just now really been Mahad? She could barely believe any of it. Yet she couldn't believe anything otherwise. She smiled slightly, and pressed the tips of her fingers against her lips. She realized, quite surprisingly, that she was rather fond of this side of Mahad's personality. If it meant that he could kiss her like _that_, she would like to see it brought out of him more often.

**Later that night...**

Isis was asleep in her bedroom, when she woke up and turned over in bed, suddenly troubled by something.

_Why does it feel as though I'm missing something?_ she wondered to herself as her mind drifted in and out of sleep.

Suddenly, the answer came to her and she sat upright in bed, gasping in shock.

"Oh dear RA!" she exclaimed. "I forgot about Mana!"

**elsewhere in the palace...**

"Isis...! Where are you...? Come and find meeeeee! ...I'm sooooooo hungry!...please hurry!" Mana cried from inside the pot she was hiding in.

* * *

><p>Haha! That last part came to me just as I was about to press the save button on my computer! I'll admit, I was a little uncomfortable about writing this chapter, but that kiss scene at the end makes it totally worth it, am I right? Yeah, I'm right.<p>

Meanwhile, I hope that you people who read this also read my Pleashipping Christmas story. It's sad, REALLY sad, but I just had to write it. Everytime I hear that song, I always think of Isis and Mahad. Don't ask why; even I don't know!

r&r at your leisure


	4. His Darker Side

I'm in a REALLY good mood! This must be the fastest I've ever updated this story! Anyway, I hope everyone's enjoying it so far, and apologies if the last chapter was a little over the top for some.

Anyway, here's chapter 4...

* * *

><p>"Isis; wait, please!"<p>

The young woman turned her head to hear the call from the other side of the corridor, and watched as Mahad quickly paced towards her. Remembering his previous demeanor from the other day, she subconsciously took a few steps towards him. She briefly noted that any other person probably would have stepped in the other direction if they had seen that darker side of him as she had the other day, but paid it no regard. If her parents had been any sign of it, it was clear that a taste for danger ran in the family.

"Mahad." She greeted him as he came up to her. She looked over his face and hands, searching for any indication that he may still be the same way as he was yesterday. finding no visibly different traits to him, she ventured forward. "Good morning; how are y...?"

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders and gazing into her eyes. "I'm sorry for my actions yesterday; there is absolutely no excuse for how I treated you! I apologize for my words, for my actions. I apologize for kissing you; that was especially inappropriate of me! I'm sorry for..."

_So he's back to this, is he?_ Isis though, partly disappointed, partly irritated, and partly relieved. Well, in the very least, this side of his personality was easy to predict, and as such, easy to manipulate. Maybe she could get an explanation out of him for what happened yesterday. As she drew out of her thoughts, she was not surprised to find that he was still apologizing to her.

"...and I'm sorry for being so rude to you. I would completely understand it if you didn't want to see me again. I promise I'll stay away from you. And again, I'm very, very sor..."

"Mahad." she said firmly, causing him to shut up immediately. "Stop, please. You don't have to apologize; I'm not mad at you, trust me."

Apparently, this was news to Mahad, as his eyebrows raised up in shock, and he took a step back, looking very disbelieving.

"Y-you're not?" he asked, face slightly flustered when she shook her head.

"Mahad, you _saved_ me from those three. That's not a bad thing."

"But I was so rude to you afterwards; _that's _the part I'm apologizing for."

"I've had worse happen to me." she assured him with a small smile. But her expression quickly drew serious again and looked at him expectantly. "I'm not interested in _what_ happened so much as I am curious to _why_ it happened. I was hoping you wouldn't mind telling me why you suddenly disappeared, then reappeared with such a completely different demeanor."

Mahad's face paled slightly at this and he looked away. "A-actually," he started tentatively, "I had hoped that we could avoid such a topic..." he looked back at Isis, and saw the disapproving scowl on her face, arms crossed over her chest, clearly not liking this suggestion. He could feel his shoulders stiffen under her gaze, and took another step back. Who would have thought that Isis could look so terrifying?

"B-b-but, you're right, of course!" he stammered nervously. "You do have a right to know!" as he continued, his expression sobered. "The truth is, I... I have... difficulty controlling my magic."

Isis's stern expression softened, though her brow was still raised in surprise. Having seen his magic firsthand, twice, she was a bit skeptical of this explanation, but didn't question him, allowing him to continue.

"When I get angry, or upset, it opens up a door for my heka to escape through, and my emotions take control of me. Things happen on their own sometimes, but most times I'm acting on my will rather than my common sense. I came to the Palace, hoping that Master Akil could train me to detach my heka from my emotions, and it has improved, but it hasn't gone away. It's a bit ironic; I'm the strongest magician in my class, even stronger than Master Akil to some extent, but he says that I cannot possibly hope to advance unless I learn self-control."

It made sense, Isis thought, going over yesterday's events. If Mahad had been hiding, and spying on what happened with her and those obnoxious boys, she could only imagine what had built up inside of him. Rage, jealousy, maybe even some possessiveness over her. And when he had kissed her and claimed her as his... had that been lust? A physical desire for her? That was a strangely comforting thought, and it sent pleasant chills over her body.

"So you were spying on me through that whole ordeal the other day?" she asked, not able to think of anything else to say at the moment.

"I'm sorry!" he went back to apologizing, and Isis immediately regretted that she had said anything. "I should have done something sooner. What's more, I should not have left you to begin with; that was completely discourteous to you..."

"I think I should start making you pay me every time you say that you're sorry for something." Isis said quickly before he could get anymore apologies in. "And I've already told you that I'm not angry with you, especially since what happened isn't your fault. Also..." She began, walking closer to him and placing a hand on his arm. A coy smile spread over her face. "I must admit that I found your anger very attractive. I didn't think you were capable of being so bold."

Mahad's face turned bright red, and turned away from her sparkling blue eyes in embarrassment. "W-well, b-be that as it may... I'm still ashamed at the way I treated you. Those creeps deserved what they got, but I should have been more respectful to you."

Isis's smile become more gentle at hearing these words, and she leans in closer to him. Shocked, he looks down at her, mouth agape at how close she is to him. Could this really be happening to him? Could such a beautiful young woman really be... _in love_ with him!

"You do not need to worry so much about such things, Mahad." she promised him. "Because I like you, Mahad. I like everything about you." That said, she leaned up and brushed her lips against his cheek. She pulled back seconds later, to find that the blush on Mahad's face had deepened, and he looked as though he was about to faint, but a smile was evident on his face, as was the feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist.

_**Q.N.**_

A few days later, Isis and Mahad could be seen walking, hand-in-hand, through the palace together, enjoying the company of one another. They were lovers to some degree, but how serious their relationship was could not be determined yet, even by them. After all, they still weren't very well acquainted with each other yet, but they both knew that they were attracted to one another, and liked each other in a way that was deeper than that of friendship. Physically, their relationship had gone as far as sweet embraces and kisses. Of course, the flowers kept showing up at Isis's doorstep every morning, which she happily gathered and placed on her bedside stand.

She had been surprised when her father had approved of their relationship, protective as he was over her. She had reasoned that he saw Mahad as a distraction for her from her mother's passing, but she did not question his motives, lest he decide to change his mind and forbid their being together. Not surprisingly, however, her father had genuinely liked Mahad as a person, complimenting the fact that he was a gentleman who had "discerning taste in women". Isis had remembered leaving the room at this comment, not without hearing her father scold her for her lack of humor. Speaking of which...

"What was it that my father was talking to you about this morning?" she asked. "He wasn't trying to talk you into being a gambling partner for him, was he?"

Mahad laughed a little nervously at that. Isis's father had proved to be a very... different personality than Mahad had initially expected. When he found out that Isis's father was not only the Guardian of the Millennium Rod, but also the head of diplomatic affairs, he had expected some profound, dignified scholar. Master Seth was the opposite of his expectations. He liked to drink, gamble, race his horse through the palace grounds, and most interestingly of all, he did not take orders if he disagreed with them. Mahad was unsure whether to respect such a brazen, headstrong man, or be completely terrified of such radical behavior from a man who held so much power. He was even more surprised that Isis was neither embarrassed or terrified of him. Instead, she seemed to endure his unpredictable quirks in a way that only a truly loving daughter could. It left Mahad with the impression that, beneath everything, Master Seth was an honorable, fair and kind person, who, if nothing else, was loyal to his family.

"No, it was nothing like that." Mahad said honestly. "Although, it was about something he would prefer that you didn't know about."

"Oh?" Isis asked curiously.

"He asked me not to tell you if it came up in conversation, but I think that you have the right to know." Mahad continued. "There's talk going through the court about the potential of a war between Egypt and one of its neighboring countries." Isis looked up at Mahad, genuinely surprised. This had been the first that she had been hearing of this matter. "Although the Pharaoh wants to avoid any controversy at all costs, the other side feels threatened by Millennium Items' powers, and wants to take them for themselves. Master Akhenaden is urging the Pharaoh to protect Egypt's borders, even to invade the other country before they invade us. Some others of the Court are in agreement, Master Akil particularly."

Isis listened carefully to this information, though was still confused. "So there's talk of war; but why does my father not wish for me to know?"

Mahad sighed. "Well, in the event that we are faced with war, your father would be expected to be among those on the battlefield and..." he hesitated, but only for a moment. "I would be expected to join my master as well. In the event that something happens to him, it is my duty as his selected heir to take his place."

"I see..." Isis responded quietly. She had not even thought of this possibility. Of course, Mahad would be expected to fight along with the soldiers and the other magicians; if nothing else, he was the strongest magician in the palace, perhaps in all of Egypt. He would be a valuable weapon on the battlefield. As for her father, his diplomatic experience would make him a representative for the Pharaoh in battle and wartime relations with the enemy nation. They would both be forced to leave.

"Your father was worried about how you would take the news." Mahad stated. "He didn't want you to worry about the possibility of a war when you already have so much on your mind."

"At this point in time, the only bad news my father could give me would regard the Millennium Necklace." Isis said with a shake of her head. She looked back up to Mahad. "_Did_ he mention anything of it to you?"

Mahad shook his head. "You know I can't ask; even if I did, it is not the place of anyone other than the Guardians themselves to know the workings of the Millennium Items." Mahad paused for a moment. "Why are you so worried about the outcome of this? The Guardians will choose only the one they consider to be best fit for the position; if they choose you, then you must trust their intuitions."

"But I was never _trained_ to take my mother's place." Isis said. "I think I would stand a better chance if I were to take my father's; I have spent more time learning from my father than from my mother."

"Your father tells me that your clairvoyant abilities rival that of your mother's." Mahad insisted. "If that is true, then you would have no trouble at all assimilating to the position of priestess."

Isis sighed. "Maybe you're right, Mahad, but it still doesn't change my fears any." Expecting some sort of comforting response from him, she felt a bit surprised when she was met with silence. Curiously, she tilted her head up to see that Mahad wasn't looking at her, but at something else to the left of them. Following his gaze, her eyes were met by the three boys from the other day, only today they were accompanied by two others, who seemed less than happy to be in the other's presence. They were resting against the walls of another corridor, and although they were gazing intently at she and Mahad, they made no move to get up or walk over to them. Isis looked back up to Mahad, whose face was contorted into an angry snarl, much like the one from the last time he confronted these boys. She could even feel that his aura seemed to grow thicker around him.

Fearing that he may be prone to attack again, she quickly untangled her hand from his, and chose to instead place her arm around his waist. she leaned her head into his shoulder, and sighed contentedly. She was successful in taking his attention off the unwanted guests, and back at her. His hand came up to stroke her hair, and he smiled affectionately at her. However, a dark glint was still present in his eyes.

"Don't mind those fools, dearest." Isis said softly. "You have me, and they do not."

Mahad could feel that monster that had just moments ago been raging inside of him calm down and purr softly at the nourishment its ego had suddenly been given, but was not content to leave its threat alone.

"That I do." he agreed. "But, if they, or anyone else for that matter, does anything like that to you again, mark my words, I'm going to kill them."

Isis laughed at this comment, lying to herself that he was not being serious, and that he was only making a point. "I'm afraid you won't get that chance, because I would have killed them long before you would reach me." she said with another laugh, to which he joined in.

In spite of the lighter mood, however, Mahad continued to glare at the group of boys until they disappeared from his sight, not knowing that someone else was doing the very same thing.

_**Q.N.**_

To say that Isis was nauseated with what she found outside her door the next morning could be considered a heavy understatement. As per usual, it was Mahad's daily offering of a flower to her. It was what the flower was _covered_ in that disgusted her. It looked as though it had been dipped in... in _blood_! It couldn't be blood, though, especially not human blood. If Mahad had brought it to her, he'd never do anything so dark and disturbing.

...unless his darker side was in possession of his actions.

This thought disturbed Isis even more, and that bolder side of Mahad's personality, for the first time, completely terrified her.

But that couldn't be the correct conclusion, Isis continued to reason with herself. There was a much more logical explanation to this disturbing scenario. ...obviously...surely... someone had seen Mahad leaving her the flowers in the morning, and decided to soak today's bloom in pig's blood or something else to put her in the state she was in now. Yes, that had to be it.

Regardless, she still didn't want this... _thing_ in front of her door. Looking around quickly, she called for the first servant she saw and asked them to dispose of it. When she saw the questioning, scared look on their face, she said it was someone's idea of a prank to unnerve her, and that it had effectively worked. She oversaw the insulting gift's disposal until she knew it would be gone, only to return in her nightmares.

Afterwards, she took a walk to the magician's wing, hoping to find Mahad there and tell him about the disturbing gift she had received this morning. As she passed by Master Akil's study, she caught a piece of a conversation the Priest of the Millennium Ring was having with Master Akhenaden, Priest of the Millennium Eye.

"...Must we make such a dilemma out of this, Akil? You should know as well as anyone that apprentices go missing all the time from the palace. They find the strain of their training too much to bear, and in their shame of failure run away. They do not even return home, they run to the next village where no one knows who they are and start life afresh."

"That's not the predicament." Master Akil spoke. "I didn't even like those three; nothing but a bunch of delinquents, disrupting my lessons, harassing the female servants, and worst of all, using their magic for juvenile pranks! Two of those boys, I only accepted them because their parents were of the nobility class, and they were paying me royalties to keep their brats out of their hair."

"So what is the problem, then?" Master Akhenaden asked.

"A parent can hate the hassle of raising their children to no end. But when a complication arises, when that child becomes sick or runs away, they are no longer a hassle. They are an heir. This is especially true amongst nobility. And if an heir disappears while in the care of another, who do you suppose they will blame for that heir's disposal?" Akil seethed. "They will be at my throat before I can get a word of protest in."

Isis had a sickening feeling that she knew who those three missing apprentices were.

* * *

><p>Left a bit of a cliffhanger there, huh? Muahahaha! So, what does everyone think? Is Mahad a murderer? Was that bloody flower a prank? Or is something more going on in the sidelines? Will I tell? Hell, no! You'll all have to keep reading to find out!<p>

R&R at your leisure... but if I get a lot of reviews, I may just be tempted to write faster...just a thought...


	5. Suspicions and a Guilty Conscience

I'm SOOOOOO sorry to those who read this fic for not updating sooner! I've been having the worst time with school for the past month; they've been bombarding us with project after project, so it's been hard for me to write! Actually, I'm still buried under alot of work now, but I figured I could get this out of the way fast so I don't feel as bad about it. So now, I present to you chapter 5! Enjoy... or not...

* * *

><p>"Master Akil is right, you know?" Yamaht commented as she walked with Isis through the corridors the next morning. Her tone suggested that she was indifferent to the conversation. "Apprentices go missing from the palace all the time, and not a week later, they end up working for some poor farmer on the outskirts of the city. They can't return home, because they're too ashamed to face up to their failure." she scoffed. "And if it's <em>those<em> three who chose to run off, well, it's no real loss, is it? Actually, it is to everyone's advantage; if even one of those pigs tried to lay their filthy hooves on me again, I would have disposed of them myself!"

She turned her violet eyes to Isis, and saw the other woman's face held the same worried expression it had when she met her not a few minutes ago. She sighed, and ran a hand through her smooth black hair, shorter than Isis's by only an inch or two. "Why does this worry you so, Isis? They were just as atrocious to you; remember what happened in the courtyard not a week ago?"

Isis sighed and recalled the memory. "I do." she agreed. "That is what troubles me. What if their disappearance was not so natural?"

Isis was surprised when Yamaht's response to this comment was to laugh. "I see what is upsetting you now." she proclaimed. "You think your boyfriend is behind this, don't you?"

"_SSHHHH! Yamaht!_" Isis hissed through her teeth. "Not so loud; the servants...!"

"Oh, let them think what they will!" Yamaht said louder than before, drawing the attention of some of the servants attending to their daily chores. "They are all well aware of the Pharaoh's opinion of palace gossip."

"Yamaht!" Isis repeated as firmly as before.

"Yes, alright!" Yamaht said, raising her hands in the air. "More importantly, you think Mahad, of all people, could have really... well... _murdered_ those three?"

"The question is not if he _could_ have, but if he _would _have." Isis said.

In spite of herself, Yamaht felt shivers go down her body. So, what Master Akil had said about Mahad's heka was true, apparently. Isis was so sweet and honest, she wouldn't lie, and rarely did she ever exaggerate. It had to be so.

"Ask him, then." Yamaht said as she collected herself again. "Not directly, of course. Ask him questions about where he was the evening before last, and look at his face for any sign of guilt, or... Ra, as if I should know how to deem someone a murderer, Isis!" she said stiffly. "I'm sorry, really, I am. Seers should be of more use than this."

"If that is the case, then we are both at fault." Isis comforted her. "Actually, your advice is very substantial. I think I should speak to Mahad about the matter if I have any doubts. Mana, too."

Yamaht nodded her head. "She would know if Mahad was not in their shared chamber last evening." she turned her head to stare out at the greenery of the courtyard as they passed it. "I still say you have nothing to worry about, though. Mahad does not strike me as someone who is emotionally capable of murder; it would way too heavily on his fragile conscious."

Thinking back to the other day, when she had been able to physically tell when Mahad's magic had taken him over, and how thick the air had been, and how dark his eyes had become, Isis paled. "Perhaps his conscious had not been in control at that time."

Q.N.

Isis searched the corridors after she parted ways with Yamaht, who had said that, in the event that Mahad _did_ have something to do with the disappearance of the apprentices, she didn't want to be around a murderer. This did little to assuage any anxieties Isis had on the situation. Fortunately, she did not have to look far for Mahad; he was walking in the courtyard with Mana and Atem, the latter two seeming to be trying to get him into one of their games. Mana was the first one to notice her, and upon doing so, ran towards Isis as fast as her small legs would carry her.

"ISIIIIIIIIISSSSS!" she cried excitedly, flailing her arms around as she jumped at Isis and hugged her around her legs. Isis was lucky enough that she managed to keep her balance, but quickly lost it as Atem ran up to her with equal enthusiasm and brought his arms around her as well. In seconds, she was on the ground with two children sprawled on top of her, each one trying to out-shout the other one for her attention.

"Hi, Isis!" Atem exclaimed. "Guess what, guess what? I know that father wants you to take over for your mother! That means that when I become pharaoh, you will be a part of my court along with Mahad! Isn't that great?"

Before Isis could respond to this surprising news, Mana crawled on top of Isis and started tugging at the front of her dress. "Isis, Isis!" she whined. "Mahad's being MEAN again!"

"Oh, _what_ did I do this time?" Isis heard him shout over the two children. She giggled and gently brought herself into a sitting position with Mana on her lap and Atem kneeling next to her.

"Yes, what _did_ Mahad do?" Isis asked with a smile, looking up at him. He gave her an exasperated look in return, letting her know how he didn't approve of her playing Mana's game.

"He won't play with me and Prince because he's a meannie!" Mana said.

Feigning shock, Isis looked up at Mahad with a gasp. "Mahad, is that true?" she asked.

"I didn't say anything like that!" Mahad defended quickly.

Isis turned back to Mana. "Really? Mana, is he telling the truth?"

"No!" Mana insisted. "He did _SO_ say that he wouldn't play with us! It's 'cause he doesn't like me!"

"Stop saying such things, Mana!" Mahad scolded her. He walked over to where they were on the ground and picked her up from off of Isis. "And get off of Isis; she's not a horse for you to ride on!"

"NOOOOOO! I want Isis! I want Isis!"

Standing up, Isis got closer to Mahad and took Mana from him just as she was about to start a temper tantrum. Instantly calming down, Mana snuggled closer to the young woman and stuck her tongue out at Mahad.

Atem followed Isis's lead and stood up as well. He sighed and shook his head at Mana. "You are such a little kid, Mana." he said. Mana responded to this by sticking her tongue out at him as well.

"Nyeh! Stupid Atem!" she said.

"Mana! Do not speak that way to the prince!" Mahad exclaimed. Mana stuck her tongue out at him again.

"Alright, now; that's enough!" Isis ordered firmly. "Everyone calm down; by Hathor, I never have this much trouble with Nephthys and Satoshet!" she said, thinking of Master Karim's children.

Mahad looked down at his feet in embarrassment. "Forgive me, Isis." he said. "I was acting childish."

"I certainly won't disagree with that." Isis nodded, putting Mana down next to Atem, who didn't seem happy about being put down, but wasn't as grumpy about it as she was with Mahad picking her up.

Isis moved to stand in front of Mahad, who cheeks turned red from their close proximity. "But I forgive you, darling." she finished, sealing her words with a quick peck to his lips, causing him to blush even more.

"EEEEEWWW!" Atem suddenly shouted, pointing at the two young adults. "Mahad has _girl germs_ now!" They laughed at his exclamation, and Mana frowned at Atem.

"Stupid Atem! Girls don't have germs!"

"Yes they do! You get them when they kiss you; Seto told me that!" he protested.

Mana smirked. "So if I kiss you, you'll get germs, right?"

The prince's eyes widened and he quickly backed away. "Don't you dare, Mana!" he demanded.

"Or what?" Mana asked, puckering her lips.

"I am the prince, and I _command _you not to touch me!" he said, backing further away from her. But every time he took a step back, Mana took a step closer to him.

"You don't scare me! Isis will protect me!"

"Well Mahad will protect me!" Atem shot back.

Mahad was about to reply to this, but Isis put her hand over his mouth and spoke instead. "Actually, my prince, we are unable to help either one of you." She smiled when she saw the young boy's face further contort with fear. "If you want help, you should go find your father; I believe I last saw him on the other side of the palace. Better hurry though, before Mana kisses you!"

Atem didn't need further persuasion as he ran out of the courtyard with Mana trailing him closely behind. The two young adults laughed as they watched them run away. Mahad looked down at Isis once the children had run out of sight. He smiled at her lovingly, thinking about how happy she seemed with Atem and Mana. Isis sensed his gaze on her, and looked up at him, confused.

"What is it?" she asked. Realizing that he had been staring, Mahad blushed and turned his eyes away from her.

"Oh, n-nothing." he stuttered, his face turning more red.

Isis smiled, and looked back at where the children had run off to. "Alright." she said.

A moment of silence passed, and Mahad looked back at her.

"You'll make a wonderful mother someday." he stated.

Isis felt her face warm at this comment, but somehow found the courage to look up at him and ask, "Are you trying to suggest something, Mahad?" she smirked.

Realizing what he had said, Mahad backed away, his entire face bright red. "I-I'm sorry! I hadn't meant it like that! Really!" he spouted out.

"Relax." she giggled. "I was only teasing you; I understand what you mean, but..." she trailed off, wondering if she wanted to trust him enough to tell him. No, she decided, not this soon in their relationship. Besides, she had more important subjects to talk about with him right now.

"Mahad?" she started, taking a step towards him. "Are... are you... alright?"

He furrowed his brow at this question. "Uh... well... how do you mean?" he asked.

"You seemed troubled; is there something wrong? Is it about the war, or Mana?" she asked, making sure not to bring up the disappearance.

"You could say that, but you do not need to worry about Mana; that child never gets sick, just moody." Isis managed a light laugh at this. Mahad managed a smile himself, but immediately it disappeared. "That's not all I am worried about. I'm also concerned about the disappearance of Master Akil's students."

Isis nodded. "So, you heard as well."

Mahad nodded his head and sighed. "The rumors are that they ran away; I want to believe that more than anything, but..." he hesitated. "I'm just not sure."

"What other explanation could there be?" Isis asked, hearing the slight trembling in his voice.

"If the Pharaoh had mentioned the war to anyone outside of the royal court, that would be a possibility, but he has only notified the guardians as of yet, and in the strictest of confidence. Knowing the sort of men those three were, I can also tell you that they had no reason to run away. So the only explanation I can seem to find is that they were, in some way, _removed _from the Palace. By someone else, and against their will."

"Removed how?" Isis whispered.

Mahad looked at her, face grim. "Do I need to say it, Isis?"

Isis shivered. He already sounded so guilty, but it just couldn't be true! There had to be some mistake, she was not about to hear Mahad confess to... _removing_ the other students from the Palace.

"Who do you think would do such a horrible thing?" Isis asked again.

"Who do you think?" he asked, and he was looking directly at her, pleading with her, begging for her to tell him something, anything. Even if he did not want to hear what she told him.

For a moment, Isis thought to ask him something else. Where was he last night? What had he done before going to bed? What was the meaning of that bloodied flower on her doorstep this morning? So many questions, and she wanted them all answered. She wanted him to say that he had spent his evening getting Mana ready for bed before going to sleep himself, and that he had slept through the entire night until dawn of this day, having heard and seen nothing, and certainly not have done anything else. But instead, she ignored his question. She changed the subject, promising herself that she would look into it no further, pretend that she had no doubts of Mahad's innocence in this. She would not believe, in any state of mind, that he was capable of murder.

"I think nothing." she lied. "I believe what the servants say: they ran away, there is nothing more or less to it. In any event, I am certain Master Akil will investigate into his own students' disappearances, and that we will know what happened to them soon enough."

"So, it did not once cross your mind that it could have been me?"

Isis's eyes widened in shock, and she looked up at his hurt expression with appall. "Of COURSE not!" she exclaimed. "Mahad, don't even say that!"

"Why not, when you know it's true, Isis?" he shouted back. "You saw what I am capable of. You know that I easily could have murdered them! And I know you believe that I did, just admit it!"

"I will not!" Isis cried. "Do not expect me to believe you to be a murderer, Mahad!"

"I didn't expect you to." Mahad said, and for a moment, it seemed to both of them that all of the world had gone silent, and only his words could be heard, still ringing in their minds.

"I didn't expect you to." he continued. "That is why it hurts so much to know you do."

"I keep telling you that I don't believe it!" Isis protested, her voice desperate to reach out to him.

"You don't have to say anything; your eyes give it away." That was all he said before turning around and leaving the courtyard.

"Mahad! Stop; come back here!" Isis called after him, hoping he would listen to her, or at least say something back. But he just kept walking.

So she ran after him, desperate to have him come back to her so she could reassure him that he could not have killed anyone. _But you still have doubts yourself, is that not true?_ Her conscience told her, but she quickly put the voice to the back of her mind. It didn't matter if she was a hypocrite; what mattered was that Mahad would not believe that he was guilty. If nothing else, he should at least have faith in himself.

"Mahad, please!" she kept calling, watching him turn a corner and retreat from her sight. "Don't do this!" She turned the corner, only to realize that he had, once again, disappeared, and there was no way of her knowing where he may have gone.

So, feeling guilty and just a bit heartbroken, she turned and walked the other way, knowing where exactly she needed to go now.

* * *

><p>Oooh, drama! Aw, poor Mahad and Isis had their first fight, so sad T.T Anyway, yes, Yamaht is an OC I invented. She's Isis's friend, although they seem to have conflicting personalities. Something I'd like to bring up about my OCs is that I like to use them in as many of my fanfictions as possible. I know some people have issues with OCs in fanfiction, so if you don't like them, all I have to say is don't read, or pretend like they're not in the story. That's what I normally do. But if anyone likes any of my OCs, please tell me so I know to keep using them, but don't be mean to them unless they actually deserve it (they have FEELINGS, you know)! Unless you have a REAL reason as to why you think my characters are bad, I don't want to hear it. Speaking of, chapter six is going to feature one of my two primary OCs in it, so stick around to read what will happen next...or not!<p>

P.S., sorry if this chapter seems rushed at all. Like I said, I've been busy!

R&R at your leisure


	6. The Messenger Appears

K, so I back with chapter 6 of this story. Fair warning: I'm introducing another OC of mine in this chapter; Nephthys. She's my main OC in almost all of the Yu-Gi-Oh stories I write, and she even has her own Millennium Item: The Millennium Headdress! It's similar to the Fountain of Hui in Xiaolin Showdown (yes, old cartoons are my greatest weakness!), where it gives the user infinite knowledge, but it varies with certain situations. Like in the Manga, where Isis says she can't use the Millennium necklace to predict the futures of other Item Bearers. Yeah, it's like that. Nephthys also has a reincarnation in modern times, like Atem and Seto. Hers is Melissa. As reincarnation suggests, the two characters are one in the same OCs, only I use Melissa for multiple storylines, not just for Yu-Gi-Oh!

But like anyone really cares about all the technical stuff! We all know why you're really here: TO READ CHAPTER SIX! (at least that's what I HOPE you're here to do)

So here's chapter 6; enjoy!

* * *

><p>The Royal Temple of Horus was located right beside the palace, and it was where Isis knew she had to be now. She would not be able to prove Mahad's innocence if she herself did not fully believe in him. But while there was no proof that he was responsible for the other apprentices' disappearances, there was also no way of proving that he was <em>not<em> responsible. And while her powers of divination were tangible, they were nowhere near as powerful as those of her mother's, or any of the lesser priestesses. So now, she turned to the gods for their guidance. Through prayer, she hoped they would take pity on her and bless her with a vision to show her that Mahad was innocent.

Before entering, she clasped her hands together, and asked the gods for permission to enter the temple in peace, as was required. After this task was completed, she began to climb the stairs leading to the entrance of the temple. Once at the top, she was met by a surprising sight: a cat. Though they were not an uncommon sight within the Temple of Bastet, located in Bubastis, it was certainly unheard of to see the furry creatures in the temple of the Protector of the Pharaohs. It could be a wild one that just happened to find its way in, being the clever creatures that they were, however, the golden collar adorning its neck told Isis otherwise. As did the pure white fur, black ears, and light brown paws and tail end. It had to be...

"Pharaoh?" Isis inquired.

The cat stood up in response to her question, and turned to enter the Temple. Isis followed close behind, knowing if Pharaoh was here, then his owner could not be far away. He led her through many winding corridors, through the main courtyard, and into several adjoining chambers of worship, before stopping where he had been meaning to lead them.

Isis stopped in the doorway to the room that Pharaoh had led her to, the main sanctuary of worship to Horus, but the white cat chose to walk in, sauntering over to the room's only occupant. The girl was young, only a year's time away from growing into womanhood. She had long, flowing brown hair, streaked through with black, giving it the appearance of tiger's fur. Her large eyes were a soft, warm brown, and were currently scanning the room nervously, as though searching for something. She was taller than most girls her age, a trait she most likely inherited from her father. She was adorned in a long, loose cotton robe, a blue sash hanging over her shoulder and wrapped around her waist, indicating her status as a priest's daughter, a future priestess herself. She also wore plain white shoes, and a golden band around her head. A book was clutched to her chest, as was the norm. Isis was instantly able to recognize the young girl as Nephthys, or Nephty for short. She was Priest Karim's daughter, and one of Isis's closest friends. They shared a close, sisterly bond, both being the children of the Pharaoh's Sacred Guardians. Nephthys was younger than Isis by about four years, yet her intelligence surpassed her age by many years. She was the most accomplished student among all their tutors, and was expected to inherit the Millennium Headdress from her mother within the year.

Pharaoh walked up to her, making himself known with a loud mew. The girl gave a very quiet gasp, and turned to the feline in question, smiling and kneeling down to its level.

"Pharaoh." she sighed. "I asked you to keep a lookout for me."

"What exactly should he be looking out for?" Isis asked.

Nephty gasped, this time more audibly, and raised her head up to see the newcomer. She hadn't even sensed Isis enter the Temple, and what horrible timing, too! She still couldn't find him, and he could show up at any time.

"Sometimes, you are almost as quiet as I am." she said simply, not letting her true emotions show, just as papa had taught her.

"Good to see you, Nephty." Isis said with a laugh, trying to break the tension she was feeling coming off the girl. So curious, since she was always so calm and happy. "I haven't seen you since I returned to the Palace weeks ago."

"I was away as well, visiting mother in Alexandria with Brother." Nephty explained. "I missed you though, Sisi. I hoped that I would have run into you sooner."

Isis smiled. "The feeling is mutual." she said. "Did you just get back?"

Nephty shook her head. "I've been back for a few days; the only reason you haven't seen me or Brother is because I thought you would like some more time with your lover." She smiled sincerely, but it only caused Isis to blush at the thought. Could she be referring to her and Mahad? They were very close to one another now, but... could they really be called lovers? Well, Nephthys _did_ have a way of seeing these sorts of things.

"I-is that so?" Isis asked, trying to get her cheeks to stop burning. "You didn't have to do that; I've really wanted to see you ever since mother died."

"She's happy." Nephty stated. "She was scared at first, but after a moment, she was no longer scared, and then she was happy. Because she was able to know that you and everyone else would be taken care of."

Isis's eyes widened in shock. "Was... was that something you really _saw_?" Nephty nodded, still smiling. The girl's precognition abilities were not that powerful; barely existent, actually. However, she did have a certain way of... _knowing things_. Things that no person should know, even with the use of magic. However, Isis was grateful for her spiritual twinkle, as it were, for it always seemed to work right when it was needed, like now.

"Did you see anything else?" Isis asked, and Nephthys shook her head.

"I can't tell you if you ask; that's the rules." She had said this many times before, and Isis wondered, not for the first time, if these rules were actually something she made up, or if another, higher power had given her these rules to follow.

"Right; my mistake." Isis exhaled in disappointment. not that she had been expecting a full out séance with her dead mother, but still. There must be _something _besides that that Nephty had to tell.

"There is more to tell." Nephty said, as though reading Isis's mind, which actually wasn't that farfetched of an idea.

"For us to be together like this in the same place at the same time, there must be something that needs to be said. Pharaoh knows that if he led you to me." she continued, the two girls glancing down at the cat, who was currently nestled in his owner's arms, purring softly to them as if in agreement.

"I... did come here for something important." Isis admitted, walking closer to the girl and sitting down in front of her. "I came to pray to the gods, to ask them about a problem."

"Don't be worried about telling me; I keep secrets if they're for friends." Nephty assured her.

"I know." Isis agreed. "But you don't keep secrets from your father, do you?"

Nephty only smiled knowingly, though a light blush had formed on her cheeks. "You know the rules, Sisi. It is your choice."

"Tell you now," Isis began, "Or have you find out later. That's the only choice."

Nephty giggled a little. "You make me sound like an impish spirit."

Isis smiled at that. "Not impish; just clever. Like your father." she added the last part to soften the young girl up a little, knowing that Master Karim was the best, if not the only way to get straightforward information out of her. "The disappearance of three of Master Akil's apprentices; that is what I have come to ask the gods of. I have suspicions that they were... ah, well..."

"Murdered." Nephthys stated with ease, to which Isis only nodded. She was about to ask if Nephthys saw anything about that, but quickly bit her tongue before uttering another word. This was the girl's game, after all, and she had to play by the rules if she expected to advance. "I don't think they are alive anymore." Nephty continued. "But I'm not the one to ask; you certainly want the gods for such a request."

"I'm not worried about what happened to them," Isis clarified. "I'm worried about what caused their disappearance."

Nephty's eyes widened, though not out of shock, it seemed, rather excitement. "Well, that's different then!" she said happily, most likely because she had an answer to give her friend. "It's not Mahad, I can tell you that much. His heart has many anxieties in it, so he doubts his own innocence, but he is not guilty. The scent of blood is not on his hands, so you have nothing to worry about."

"And you know this?" Isis asked.

Nephty nodded. "I've seen him with you, and those brief moments are enough to tell me what he is and is not capable of."

"Have you seen what his magic can do?" she whispered.

Another nod. "His heka is linked to his soul, so his emotions have a strong influence over his powers. My guess is that he could move the earth if under the right amount of stress," Isis shivered a little at this imagery. "but the reason he is not responsible is because of the circumstances of the apprentices' disappearances; they vanished into the shadows. Not even their ashes remain on this earth. They vanished through the act of a fully conscious mind, calculating and planning, and then acting out their will. If it had been Mahad, his emotions would have been in control, and he would not have been in his right mind. So no, I could not have been him." Nephty finished. "I don't know who is responsible, but I do know that it could not have been Mahad."

Immediately, Isis lit up. This was wonderful! If Nephthys said so, there was no way Mahad could be responsible for the apprentices' disappearances; he had to be innocent!

"That's wonderful, Nephty!" Isis exclaimed. Nephty nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but..." she continued, "he still needs to be convinced of that himself. If I were in your place, I'd talk to him about it as soon as possible. It may be difficult at first, but you should be able to convince him that he's innocent."

"I'll do that, thank you, Nephty." Isis beamed. "You don't know what this means to me." She was about to get up to leave the temple and go find Mahad, but then she remembered something, and turned back to the young girl, who at this point had gotten up and started wandering around the room again, just as she had been before.

"Nephty?" Isis asked, causing her to turn back to her friend. "Do you need help looking for something?"

Isis was surprised when her back stiffened, and she shakily turned back to the future priestess.

"A-ah, that's not necessary, Sisi!" she said, "I came to see a friend, but he doesn't appear to be here, so..."

"Would you like me to help you look for him?" Isis offered. "It's the least I can do to thank you for the information."

"You don't need to thank me." Nephthys replied with a smile. "Besides, you wouldn't be able to see him, anyway; I'm the only one who can."

"Aah, I see." Isis said with a knowing smile. Nephty was known to create imaginary friends from time to time. Not that the girl had a lack of real friends, but she created them for amusement, to keep her mind in full use. "Well then, I'm sure he'll show up somewhere. Will I be seeing you at supper tonight?"

Nephty smiled. "You can count on it." she said. "Bye!"

Isis waved her goodbye and exited the room, deciding to take a detour out of the temple. She walked through corridors she seldom ever walked through, looking into rooms only priests were normally seen in, performing rituals and preparing animal sacrifices to the gods. Soon, she would likely be the one to carry out these tasks, if the prince's words were correct.

Did the Pharaoh really want her as priestess? She was not so sure she agreed. What, besides her relationship to the former Priestess of the Necklace, did she have to offer? Yamaht was much more skilled than she was. Now that she thought of it, did Yamaht know? How would she feel if Isis received the position that she had been trained her entire life for? Isis already knew that her father would have a fit; he was the one who had offered his daughter to the palace to be trained as a priestess in the first place. Isis had always been meant to take over for her father, since she had been their only child. Now there had been talk recently of giving the position of priest of the Millennium Rod to Seto, who was Priest Akhenaden's apprentice. He had been excelling at his studies almost as quickly as Nephty, and Akhenaden was insisting on keeping his position as Millennium Eye holder for as long as possible. Though Isis could understand this; she could only imagine the great pain that would come with relinquishing the Eye. She didn't even know how he was able to bear it the first time. Priest Karim and Priestess Hanankha were blessed enough to have two children, one to take over for each of them when they deemed the time right to surrender their Items. Nephthys was to inherit the Millennium Headdress from Hanankha, while her younger brother, Satoshet, would take the position as holder of the Millennium Scales from Karim. And both children were young, eager, and proud to take their parents' places. As for Priest Shada, holder of the Millennium Key, he wasn't even concerned about who would succeed him. Isis thought he was the smartest out of the priests, but she wasn't too happy with his foresight at the moment; she _knew_ he had been one of the Guardians who had recommended her to inherit the Necklace in the first place, along with Karim, Hanankha, and her father. She was happy for their trust, truly she was, but she doubted if she could live up to such high expectations.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a noise, coming from the room just ahead of her. She had never heard anything like it before. Curious, she looked into the room and walked inside. The room had a fountain inside of it, as well as several ornate plants and statues scattered about it. The ceiling above was open, allowing sunlight to come in and reflect off of the water. Birds flew in and out, roosting on the plants and at the lip of the fountain. The water trickled to a unique rhythm of its own, accompanied by the singing of the birds. There was so much noise, but none of it the one that Isis had heard. What she had heard was melodic and deep, like someone singing. She looked around the room, trying to find the source of whatever made the sound, but nothing could be visibly seen. With all the white noise the water and birds were making, it was also hard to place where it was coming from. She walked towards the fountain and sat down. The birds at the fountain, noticing her presence, took off and started flying around the room. She followed some on them with her eyes, and lost one as it flew behind a statue close to the wall, but never came back around. Worried the poor thing may have gotten stuck, Isis walked over to the statue and examined the back of it.

She found no bird, but a gap in the floor, large enough for it to have flown through. She could even hear it chirping; it sounded like it was far away. And that was not all she heard. The song was louder, and much clearer over here. As Isis continued to listen, she realized that she recognized the song as one her mother always used to sing to her. Coming from whoever was singing it now, it sounded so much sadder than she remembered her mother ever singing it. But the voice was hypnotizing. Never before had she heard something so beautiful and so full of emotion. She examined the statue further, and found that she could move it with ease. She quickly pushed it aside, revealing a flight of stairs, lit by torches, going deep into the temple.

Isis considered the stairs for a moment, realizing that she didn't know where they led, and that the person who was singing may not want the company if they went to such great lengths to stay hidden. But the desire to discover who the owner of the beautiful voice was overpowered her rational thought, and she descended into the secret passage, the torchlight and the voice being her only guide as to where she was going.

She came to a fork in the road almost immediately, and when she tried to determine where to go by the sound of the voice, she was irritated to find that it came from both directions. This did not deter her, however. She looked to both directions, and after a brief moment of consideration, chose to go left, telling herself that she could always turn back if there was any trouble. Her intuition led her straight through a long passage, ending at a wooden door carved with the image of a deity that Isis, even with her extensive studies on the many gods of Egypt, could not place. Her curiosity continued to overflow as she heard the voice she had been following emanate from directly behind the door. Not wasting another moment, she pushed it open wide and walked into the small room.

Inside was nothing more than a cavernous chamber, lit by dozens of candles and torches, hazed in the smoke and scent of incense. the only other items in the room was an alter, and behind it a statue of the very same god immortalized on the door. Isis walked closer to the statue until she was right in front of the alter, examining it with limitless interest. Although she knew she had never seen this deity before, he seemed very, very familiar to her.

"What is this place?" she wondered aloud.

"'tis a shrine to the Messenger, m'lady, hidden deep within the confines of this holy place. Kept away from any who would wish harm upon it." came a voice in response, causing Isis to gasp in shock. She had not expected a response; she had thought that she was alone. Quickly, she turned to face the door, and what she saw was more terrifying to her than anything she could have imagined:

She saw nothing.

There was no one standing in the door, which was the only way in or out of the room.

And there was no one in the room with her.

"Who's there?" Isis asked defiantly, trying to sound less scared than she actually was.

"Forgive me for startling you; 'twas not my intention."

"Who are you?" Isis repeated, looking around for shadows that might give away where whoever was speaking to her was hiding. She found no evidence that there was another being in the room with her. At least no _living_ being!

_"No name I may give you has meaning;_

_No face I may show you can grace;_

_The truth may be seen all around you;_

_In this sacred place."_

The voice began to sing a beautiful melody, and Isis now realized that she was speaking to the same voice that had entranced her to follow it into the unknown without a care.

"Please," she begged, her tone now less afraid, but still quiet out of respect for whatever powerful being she was witnessing. "show yourself to me; I must know who you are."

_"Deep in your heart, you know the answers;_

_Hidden but now unknown;_

_Memories lost, but not forgotten;_

_Childhood prayers, answered."_

The verses of the song brought true memories flooding into Isis's heart, and she found herself for a moment away from this place. She was lying underneath the shade of a tree, head nestled in her mother's lap. She could feel her mother stroking her hair, and listened intently to the stories she told to her.

"It is you." Isis whispered, unbelieving. "After all these years, all the stories my mother told, and you were real all this time. You are the Messenger of Osiris!"

The voice seemed to agree with what she said, because the next lyrics of the song rang out in an echo of her words:

_"Your mother once spoke of a Guardian;_

_You used to dream He'd appear;_

_Now in her death you can sense Him;_

_And you know He's near!_

_Here in this room, He calls you softly;_

_Somewhere inside, hiding;_

_Wherever you go, He's always with you;_

_He, the unseen genius."_

"Did my mother send you to me? To guide and protect me now that she cannot?" Isis asked, the words now falling from her mouth as easily as sand slips through the fingers. She had to know as much as she could.

_"For a time, I lived in the darkness;_

_Trembling in fear for my life;_

_Along came the dear lady Nephthys;_

_To save me from my strife;"_

Isis shivered as the Messenger mentioned her mother's name, but did not dare speak as the voice continued its sad tale.

_"She led me to this sanctuary;_

_To build up in My vision;_

_A haven for those who mourn their losses;_

_Far from the cruelties of man."_

_"Isis, I've watched you in silence;_

_Praying this day would come true;_

_Now all my dreams have been answers;_

_For I have found you;_

_Goddess of beauty;_

_Muse of virtue;_

_Maiden of light;_

_Soul mate;_

_Answer to these, my_

_years in darkness;_

_love of my life;_

_Isis!"_

To say Isis was flattered by the words he sang to her was a heavy understatement. She didn't think even Mahad's words had ever impacted her so. His every word resonated within her, filling her heart in a way no one, not her parents or Mahad, had ever been able to.

_"I've come to grant your wish;_

_Just say what I may do;_

_Whatever you may wish;_

_I will make it come true;_

_Don't hesitate to ask;_

_Anything for you!"_

Isis thought of this for a moment. There was nothing that she really wanted for herself; she was content to live the life she had. Even with her mother's death, she still had her father, her friends, and of course Mahad. They were all she needed to be happy.

Mahad...

"If you are truly of divine origin, then you would be able to see and know all that happens in this world." she offered.

"'tis true enough." said the Messenger. "What is it you would like to know?"

"The three apprentices who went missing...what was the nature of their disappearance. I am unable to find rest in my heart lest I know what became of them."

"Such an ugly business to speak of with a woman." the Messenger mused. "But allow me to put your heart to ease. The three young men you speak of, their disappearance is my doing, the will of the gods. They performed unspeakable sins when they attacked you, a young woman still coping with the death of your mother. The gods saw it fit to send them to be consumed by Ammit, and it was I who was sent to do the unspeakable crime. They lie in the shadows now, hollow and without life."

"So that was your doing?" Isis exclaimed, shocked and overjoyed all at once.

"'twas the gods' will. The Messenger of Osiris can never allow an innocent maiden to be attacked by such disgusting creatures and let them get away with it. I had to make certain that they would never dare touch you again, and so I sent them to the Realm of Shadows, where all dark souls meet their justice."

"I... I don't know what to say." she answered truthfully.

"Thanks is unnecessary; it is my duty from this day forth to protect you from the cruelties of man, 'til the day that you no longer need my presence any longer. Then I shall make myself known to the next mortal that needs me, such is the task granted to me by my Master."

"You would do that for me?" Isis asked.

"But of course, m'lady. As I stated, you are my destiny, and I will stay with you 'til the end of time if I must. But for now, our time must be cut short here, to prevent others from finding this sacred place. Make haste to your loved ones, and promise me that you shall speak not a word of this encounter. Do this for me, and you may return to my temple whenever you please. I will gladly look forward to your return, Isis."

Isis looked towards the door, then back at the statue of the Messenger. A part of her still wished to stay here in his company, but she knew she had to find Mahad, to tell him that he was innocent.

"Go on, my dear. I will never leave your side, even if you cannot see or hear me I shall be with you. Take that knowledge and return to the surface." the Messenger encouraged.

Taking his words to heart, Isis nodded and left the shrine room, retracing her steps back up to the main passages of the Temple, and rushing out into the daylight, running down the stairs and right to the palace. She ran past every corridor, every room, past servants and nobles alike. She almost thought she had passed her father, but paid him no mind. All that mattered to her at that moment was finding Mahad.

She finally located the room he was in, which she later found out were his bed chambers. He was lying down on a chaise lounge, staring out a window to his right. He still looked as sick as when she last saw him. She didn't even hesitate. She ran towards him and threw herself into his arms, burying her face into his shoulder. He did not notice her presence until she had done so, and he yelled in shock at the sudden contact. At first he had thought it was Mana, but then smelled the scent of the Nile and lotus blossoms that he had come to associate with Isis.

"Isis?" he asked, completely flabbergasted by her sudden appearance, and even more sudden display of affection. "What are you-?"

Before he could finish, she had pressed her lips to his harder than she had ever kissed him before. She pulled back seconds later to see that his face, the one that she loved so much, had turned bright red all the way to his neck.

"I'm sorry!" she said. "Darling, I'm so sorry I ever doubted your innocence; I should have known better!" She couldn't say anymore before she broke down into tears and brought her face back to his shoulder. Mahad was still in shock, but was able to compose himself just enough to wrap his arms around her.

"I-it's alright, Isis." he said, more because it was what his mind was telling him to do, and not because he believed it himself. "I'm not mad at you for-"

"Well you _should_ be!" he heard her mutter against him. "If no one else believes you, then I should. I love you so much! How can I expect you to believe in yourself if I don't?" she kept sobbing through all her words, so what she said was muffled and unclear, but he was able to make out the gist of it; she felt terrible about what happened earlier.

"Isis, calm down." Mahad soothed, running his hands through her hair. "You have no reason to be so upset; if I am to blame for..."

"But you're not!" Isis exclaimed, raising her head and looking into his eyes. He couldn't help but stare at her red, puffy eyes and flushed cheeks trailed with tears. "I spoke with the gods, in the Temple! They sent me...they sent me a vision, that _proved _you could not have been responsible for the disappearance of those boys. Trust me, you are completely innocent! I should have known right from the start, but I was so scared, and I panicked, and...!"

"Isis, _please,_ calm down!" Mahad urged her, raising his voice just the slightest bit. "You're likely to pass out if you stay this tense." He watched her for a moment, observing the transition of body-racking sobs to light sniffles and whimpers. Her hands were the only thing that was trembling now, and he placed his own hands over hers to steady them. Her breathing had slowed down. Her cheeks were still flushed with color, but otherwise she looked as though she had steadied herself.

"Now," he began. "I believe you; I believe everything you told me. So thank you; for believing in me when I didn't. You don't know what that means to me. And I'm sorry as well. If I had known that accusing you of not having faith in me would make you this upset, I never would have said anything. But I was more frustrated with myself than I was with you, Isis, so don't feel like I blame you for anything. I love you too much."

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say, for the minute he finished her eyes were filled to the brim with tears once again, and she leaned against him. He continued to hold her, not knowing what more he could do at the moment. Occasionally he caught segments of things she was saying ("terrible", "fool" and "rose" were the only ones to really stick out with him). He didn't know how long they remained together like that, but the next time he looked out the window, the sun was setting.

"Isis." he whispered. She only managed a soft whimper in reply. "Hold on to me; I'm going to carry you back to your room." Doing as said, she wrapped her arms around his neck, not even uttering a gasp in protest as he picked her up bridal style and walked out of his room.

"Are you going to stay with me? Until I fall asleep, at least?" she asked in a low voice. Mahad blushed a little at the request, but quickly shook his head and smiled down at her.

"I would like to, but I need to find Mana and get her to bed. If I don't the servants will find her passed out on the palace floors tomorrow morning."

"Tell her she can sleep with me tonight." Isis mumbled.

"I'll do that." he sighed, not sure whether he would or not. He'd hate to have Mana see Isis in this state, especially when his little sister had come to love her so much.

When they finally made it to her room, he took her to her bed, laid her down and pulled the covers over her. Before he could leave, she reached out and touched his hand.

"I love you, Mahad. I really do."

He felt something in his chest swell up when she said that, and for once it wasn't that monster. He looked back at her, and knelt down. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers as gently as he possibly could. They broke apart too quickly for either's liking.

"I love you, too, Isis." he whispered back. "Please get plenty of rest tonight. I promise I will be here to see you tomorrow morning."

And with that he left her room, going to search for Mana, wherever she had gone off to this time.

* * *

><p>...Whew! I think this is the longest chapter I've written so far. Kinda makes not writing for so long worth the wait!...ok, not really! So what does everyone think of Nephthys? She seems to know a lot even without the Millennium Headdress, eh? Doesn't mean she's perfect. Actually, she's got a ton of flaws. Like her unwavering love and loyalty to her father, Priest Karim! Yeah, she's a total daddy's girl! She'll do whatever it takes to please her father, even if it goes against what she thinks is right. But anyway, she'll be in a good amount of my Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction, so either you like her, or you'll have to get used to her, 'cause she's not going anywhere... just like russia (kolkolkolkolkol!)<p>

...Ohohohoh! I completely forgot to mention this before! I know I've put it in some of my other fanfics, but not in this one. So just so people know, I have an account on DeviantART, so if anyone wants me to draw any artwork(s) for any scene in this story feel free to contact me either through my deviantART account, listed on my homepage, or through . Also, if someone wants to do their own fanart for this story, go right ahead! Just promise me you'll show it to me! It'll totally make my day!

r&r at your leisure


	7. The Good, The Bad, and The Worse

There is no real excuse for why I haven't been updating this. Neglected it in favor of other things like video games and sleeping. In fact, I have even more of a reason now for why I shouldn't be updating this (college work is a bitch), but I'm fed up with not having updated when I had an opportunity so now I'm doing it while I have this chance between classes to do so (instead of working on a craptastic art project that I'm struggling with).

For those who have been reading and anticipating an update, my sincerest apologies, and I hope beyond hope that I can get back to updating this on a regular basis, even though I'm a bit short of time these days. I have a lot of stories on backup that I want to finally get on here, but I want to focus on this one from start to finish before I start on another major project. The other fanfics I put on recently are mostly random drabbles to get my writer's mind going again, having been in hibernation for a while.

So, here's chapter 7

* * *

><p>Isis groaned and rolled over in her sleep. As her face was met by the warm sunlight coming in through the window, she stirred from her sleep, uttering another groan in protest to the brightness. She turned over again, and lifted the covers over her eyes, hoping to fall back into blissful slumber. Unfortunately, a knock at the door to her chambers prevented such a wish to come to her. Sighing, she rose from her bed, and blindly grabbed for the robe she had discarded on the floor before going to sleep last night. When her fingers brushed against fabric, she grabbed the robe and quickly wrapped it around her before another knock was heard.<p>

"Yes, I'm coming!" she yelled, rushing to her door. Whoever it was, even if it was Mahad, they were going to get an earful! She pulled the door open, not before making sure it would be more than obvious she was irritated. Her father stood before her, one of his signature smirks plastered on his face and a rose in his hand.

"Good morning, dearest." He said happily, ignoring the unpleased look on his daughter's face.

"Maybe for you." she mumbled, but stood aside to let him in nonetheless. He sauntered in and sat down on the couch, laying the flower on the table in front of it. Isis's eyes were drawn to it immediately, recalling the events of last month. Since the incident with the bloody flower, she had stopped keeping them in her room, though they still arrived every day, and with no other unwanted surprises. But she no longer felt comfortable keeping them, as they only served as a bitter reminder to her about what happened. How she had been led to believe Mahad had been involved in murder. How they had fought, how she had hurt him and how he had forgiven her when she did not deserve his forgiveness. In spite of that, she was still glad that she _had_ restored faith in him, and that he still cared for her. But even though they had been able to make up and remain close through that hard time, she no longer accepted the flowers he left for her.

Seth noticed his daughter's eyes focus on the flower and gave a knowing smile. "A gift from your lover, I assume. It was left on your doorstep." he stated.

"I'm aware." she said stiffly.

The smile on her father's face instantly dropped at hearing the tension in her voice, and he shook his head with a sigh. "Where you get that serious attitude from, I will never know."

Isis narrowed her eyes slightly and stuck her nose up a little, not appreciating being patronized like this. "Is there a reason you came here so early, father? I was still sleeping before you came."

Seth returned his gaze to his daughter. "All fun set aside, yes, I did come to tell you some important news."

"Is it about the Millennium Necklace?"

The older man smiled. "You have your mother's talent, alright."

"That was just a hunch; and a very easy one at that." she replied.

"Be that as it may, you still have been blessed with the gift that gave your mother her place as one of the Pharaoh's sacred guardians." he said. "And now you are following in her place. The Pharaoh has decided that you should be the next priestess of the Millennium Necklace. Congratulations, dearest; I can't tell you how happy I am for you."

Isis sighed. "So it is official? No more debating?"

Seth shook his head. "The guardians gave their final word on the matter last night, and the Pharaoh made the final decision."

"Why was I chosen over Yamaht?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Besides your relationship to the previous owner of the Necklace, you have some of your mother's natural ability of precognition, as I stated previously, you were trained for the position of a priestess, even if it wasn't for the Necklace. And... the court has had some... difficulties with Yamaht, I must confess."

"What sort of difficulties?" Isis reluctantly asked.

"Well, ah... believe it or not, she has been hinting at the court to let _you_ take the Millennium Necklace, but keep her at the palace."

"She _WHAT?!_" Isis exclaimed.

"Yes, actually; when she told me to convince the Pharaoh that you should be your mother's successor at all costs, I thought it was her idea of a joke... until she got down on her knees and started begging me to not let her become part of the court. Not to mention Karim told me she had asked him if Priests were allowed to use the Royal Family's escape route out of the palace... and that some guards had caught her trying to sneak out of the palace..."

Isis had stopped listening at this point to her father's story, and was making plans to find Yamaht.

Q.N.

"What in _Ra's _name were you _doing?!_ Telling my father and the other priests to _not _accept you as the priestess of the Millennium Necklace! Do you have any idea how much I have been...!"

Isis was not able to get anymore in as Yamaht had run up to her and embraced her in a bone-crushing hug, squealing at the top of her breath. They caught the attention of many of the servants and passersby in the corridor, though Yamaht didn't seem to care. Isis, on the other hand, was trying desperately to push the ecstatic young woman off of her.

"Have you gone insane?!" she exclaimed. "I'll have you know I...!"

"I heard everything; you're going to be accepted as the court's next priestess! Oh, I cannot thank you enough!" Yamaht screamed, letting go of Isis immediately. "I could kiss you right now, Isis!"

"Please don't!" Isis said quickly, paling at the suggestion.

"This is going to get him right where it hurts! His pride is about to be shattered into a million tiny pieces and crushed into a fine powder!"

"Who are you talking about?"

"My father, of course, dear! Oh, he's going to protest completely, but there is absolutely nothing that he can do about it, because the Pharaoh, bless his heart, has made his final decision! ALL HAIL THE PHARAOH!"

"Your fa...?" All at once, it clicked what Yamaht had done, and Isis's eyes widened at the realization. "Are you telling me you've been going around and convincing the priests that you are not suitable to be a priestess... just to humiliate your father?! That's the most ridicul...!"

"I'd like to see him use me like that again! That will teach him for telling me what to do, trying to marry me off to suitors, and especially for keeping me locked up in the palace this whole time! If this won't hurt his ego, I don't know what will!"

"Do you have any idea how much I have been _dreading_ being given this title?! I can't be a priestess!" Isis yelled as loud as she could.

Yamaht did not seemed fazed by this at all. She even slung an arm around Isis's shoulder "Don't fret, Isis! If anyone knows you're worthy, it's your best friend. Do you think I would have gone through with this if I did not have the utmost faith in your abilities? Of course not! Because I love you like the sister I never had!"

"I could strangle you right now; you have the most warped sense of reality I have ever...!" Isis began to rant.

"Be that as it may, she is not as free as she would choose to be, Sisi."

Both the young women looked to the side to see Nephthys sitting against the wall flipping through a book, her feline friend napping beside her.

Yamaht raised an eyebrow at the younger girl. "And what does that mean, little girl?"

Nephthys smiled. "No one is going to say anything on the matter, but you never had a chance of being priestess to begin with. You do not have the bloodline on your side, nor the precognitive powers, or even the judgment and ingenuity to truly take such a position of such magnitude. The only reason you were taken as an apprentice to Lady Nephthys was because your father holds minor authority in the government. _Very_ minor authority I should say."

Though anyone else could easily see this as an insult, Yamaht merely smiled and strengthened her grip on Isis. "Exactly right, dear." she agreed. "Isis has deserved this right from the start; just like I told the other priests!"

"The meetings held by the Sacred Guardians have been more to discuss what to do about your position in the palace. After all, even with your father's money and persuasion, the pharaoh couldn't possibly allow you to stay at the palace without earning your keep." Nephthys continued with a slight nod in consideration.

Yamaht nodded as well, "I hardly see that as a problem."

"I just hope your father agrees. I believe that the Priests came up with a very comfortable arrangement for you, personally. The Pharaoh plans on discussing it with him today when he comes to the palace."

"Well I'm certain that he will...!" Yamaht's face suddenly dropped, and her eye began to twitch erratically. "What...did you... say?"

"About your father, you mean?" Nephthys asked innocently. "Why, he was invited to the palace today to discuss your new arrangements. I believe Father said that if arrangements cannot be made, you are to return to your home tonight with your father." Yamaht paled, and the arm placed around Isis's shoulders went limp instantly.

"You're saying that my father is... here? In the palace? Now!?" she shrieked.

Nephthys only calmly nodded.

Yamaht laughed a little weakly, before backing away from the two of them and quickly looking around the corridor. Her face had returned to a composed appearance, but her voice failed to follow, as did her shaking body.

"Heh... heh heh... If you ladies would excuse me now. I need to... run. No! Hide! No! Leave the palace! Nowhere is safe!" Before she could finish her sentence, she turned and took off down the corridor, trailed by the nervous and confused eyes of the servants.

When she was out of sight, Isis turned to Nephty and sighed a breath of relief. She gave the young girl a weary smile and sat down next to her, taking the opposite side of Pharaoh. "Thanks for that, Nephty." she said.

"For what?" she asked, though a smile was clear on her face. "It was just something I thought she would like to know. I was also going to say she wasn't very smart, but that would have been rude."

"That is true," Isis agreed, "But it would have been true as well."

"What I never understood about Yamaht is why she always tries to go against her father." Nephty stated, furrowing her brows. "She should want to do anything to make him happy."

Isis smiled. "Not everyone has a father as wonderful as yours, Nephthys." she stated, thinking of her own father, and some of the less-than-wise choices he had made over the years. "And not everyone is as loving and loyal to their families as you."

Nephty hummed in response and returned her attention back to her book. "You will be a wonderful priestess." She stated.

"But how can you be sure?" Isis asked.

"I'm not sure." Nephty said. "It isn't my place to tell you that; you should seek council with the gods. They know you are the correct choice to carry the Millennium Necklace."

Isis nodded. "I have taken council with the gods many times over the last few days, Nephty." After her first meeting with the Messenger of Osiris, she had kept her word to him and had not mentioned to anyone about their meetings, or the location of the hidden shrine in the Temple. She came nearly every day, and he was always there to greet her each time. She had mentioned her concerns to him regarding her position of priestess, and he had told her multiple times that whomever the responsibility of the Necklace falls to will be the will of the gods, so she had nothing to fear. If she was to be chosen, she would make a fine guardian. His words had truly soothed her, but the apprehension never ceased. What had changed was that some of the fear of being selected had turned into excitement for what could come of such a title, how it could possibly bring her closer to Mahad, who would take his master's place as the guardian of the Millennium Ring, and maybe bring her closer to her mother, who had been the original owner of the Necklace. Perhaps she would even be able to be a good advisor to the Pharaoh, and then to Prince Atem when he took his father's place. Suddenly she had not been as scared, and it was a feeling that no one else had been able to instill in her. "They have assuaged some of my anxieties, but I suppose it is still natural to feel some doubt."

"I have a bad feeling about that place, Sisi."

Isis turned her head to Nephthys, and was surprised to see how her brows were furrowed in worry, and that some of the light in her eyes had disappeared. It was as though Nephthys was a completely different person.

"What place, Nephty?" Isis asked.

"That hidden passage in the fountain room to the very back of the temple. The one hidden behind a statue." Isis's eyes widened. She had never mentioned it to Nephthys; how could she have known?! "I came across it myself a few years ago while exploring the temple with Father. Pharaoh ran away and I followed him to the secret passage. It was empty back then; there was nothing inside. Now it has recently become inhabited by something unhuman."

Isis shivered at the description. It was exactly as she had remembered it, as though Nephthys was reading her mind. She may well have been.

"He is a spirit of sorts. I have heard him singing his songs sometimes in the Temple, but never once have I seen or spoke to him. If he has made himself known to you, Sisi, then he must favor you." Nephthys closed her book and stood up. Pharaoh picked up on her movements instantly, waking from his cat nap and stretching next to his owner.

"What does that mean, Nephty?" Isis asked as she stood up as well. Nephty began to walk away, Pharaoh sauntering alongside her. "Nephthys?"

Nephthys stopped. "There is a bridge made of reeds. It is weak, but is able to carry one person across. Where it goes is unknown. Perhaps it leads to paradise, but if one feels so bold as to take the risk, they must accept wherever it leads, for once it is crossed, there is no going back."

"What would you choose?" Isis asked.

Nephthys turned and smiled. "I would find the person who built the bridge and ask where it leads. After all, a bridge has to be built on two sides, so at least one of the two people who built it is bound to know where it leads."

Isis tilted her head in thought. "True enough; but why would anyone build a bridge to somewhere that was not safe?"

"Because the people who follow that logic won't know the difference." Nephthys said quietly. It seemed that she had no more to say on the matter, because she started walking away again, her cat following behind.

Isis cringed. Though a small part of her wished to deny the truth in Nephthys's words, she knew that there was too much sense to what she had said. Everything in life came with some consequence, something gained and something lost. Some things held much greater consequence than others. Whether one was willing to take responsibility for their actions and decisions was where the greatest consequence lay.

While this piece of advice was sound, Isis did not understand how it was connected to her discovery of the secret room, or her conversations with the Messenger of Osiris. He had been a faithful friend and advisor to her since they had first begun to converse. He had assuaged her greater fears of becoming a priestess, had told her stories and taught her about things she had never known. He listened to her when she told him of her own life, about her father and her friends in the palace; when she told him about Mahad. He even told her about how her mother was at peace in the Afterlife, happily awaiting to reunite with her when it was her time. For that she would be eternally grateful, knowing that her mother was in the arms of the gods, being able to know every day that she was happy and content. Surely Nephthys could not feel that the Messenger was a disturbance. Isis was more than certain that the young child could sense his presence in the Temple, perhaps she had even had the pleasure of communing with him as well. She must be sensing a different aura in that room. Perhaps she might even be mistaken about where in the Temple such a negative energy could come from. Isis was certain of this. Besides that, if there was something wicked lurking in the shadows, would Isis not have also been able to sense it? Had her intuition ever led her astray before? Of course not. Nephthys _had_ to have been mistaken!

Still...

Isis shook her head quickly, expelling that nagging voice in the back of her mind. She wouldn't dwell on such a thing any longer, not while she had more pressing matters to attend to. For whether she approved or not, what her father had said was set in stone. There was no more debating, no more waiting; she was now the new high priestess in Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen's court. Well... that wasn't entirely true either. She still had to go through the ceremony that would initiate her into the Sacred Court, eternally binding her in service to Egypt's royal family, and as such making her responsible for the Millennium Necklace. Her father had told her that this ceremony would take place within the next three days, giving the other members of the court ample time to prepare the temple for the ceremony. Not to mention the celebration afterward in her honor, another tradition she could do without.

She sighed; three days wouldn't be enough time for her.

Three _years_ wouldn't be enough time!

Her thoughts were pushed aside as a hand rested on her shoulder. Startled, she gasped and quickly turned, only to find Mahad smiling at her.

"Yamaht told me I would find you around here." he stated.

"Is that so." Isis asked shakily, still a bit surprised by his sudden presence. Mahad caught this, and quickly looked her over. He noticed how her skin seemed more pale and her hands were twitching ever so slightly. He frowned; had he scared her that badly?

"Are you alright, Isis?"

What did he mean by that, she wondered. Was it her reaction? Or did her anxiety show more than she thought?

"Y-you just startled me a bit, Mahad. Forgive me, I didn't mean to worry you." she quickly replied. "I was just deep in thought."

"'A bit'?" he asked, bringing his face a bit closer to hers. She instantly felt her face heat up. "Are you sure about that? You look so pale today."

She shook her head, but gave him a small smile as a way of reassurance. "Just had to think about some unpleasant topics, that's all, really."

"The necklace?"

She nodded. "Were you informed by anyone? Father gave me the news this morning."

"You were selected because Yamaht is losing her mind." Mahad said jokingly. "My master informed me last night of the decision. I would have told you myself, but I had thought it be best if your father gave you the good news."

Isis gave him an aside look. "Afraid of how I would react, were you?" she asked dryly.

He laughed at this. "O-of course not, dear. I just knew that if I told you about it last night, you never would have been able to sleep."

Isis scoffed, only half amused by this response. "Well, how _noble_ of you, Mahad!" she chuckled.

Although her tone was light, Mahad could still hear the slightest hint of frustration. He knew better than anyone else how she had been dreading inheriting her mother's position. Still, she had seemed to have warmed up to the idea over the past month; he had hoped that she would have overcome all of her anxieties by now.

"Are you upset?" he asked softly.

Isis closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes; but not at you. Partly with Yamaht, for having this senseless ambition to rebel against her father at every possible instant, but mostly with this entire situation. I still do not feel fully prepared to take on such a demanding responsibility. Three days isn't nearly enough time to prepare."

Mahad chuckled a little. "I do not think it's possible for anyone to ever be fully prepared for anything." he said. Isis certainly couldn't deny the truth in those words. "But if it means anything to you, I think you can come close if you really desire to."

She smiled at him. "Of course you would say that. You want to make me happy."

"Is it working?" he asked hopefully.

Isis laughed at his expectant tone, like a child eagerly awaiting a new toy. "No." she said with a shrug of her shoulders. His face dropped instantly, but before he could protest, she laughed lightly, "But if it means anything to you, I think you came close."

She leaned closer to him and kissed him on the cheek, finalizing her argument on the matter. So Mahad decided not to mention another word on the matter, instead taking that moment to put his arm around her waist and begin a conversation with her about his magic training. She listened intently, letting the worries that plagued her mind seconds ago to slip away with each word that rolled off the young man's tongue. After a while, they came to one of the courtyards, where he demonstrated some of his spells for her as she looked on in awe. He had come so far recently, she could even sense his newfound control, confidence and power, emulating through his entire being each time he uttered an incantation, causing sparks to fly, water to flow in midair, fire to burst into existence without burning the greenery in the courtyard. Never once was she scared, and she noticed that he never was either. All she saw was that charming, radiant smile appear on his face, showing how happy and proud he was that he could make her laugh, smile, shiver, tense, and jump all at once. Because she needed this now, to relax her, to remind her that her future position of priestess was not something that needed to be feared. Rather, it was a wonderful opportunity for her that could bring about so many more wonderful experiences, without keeping her from others she may think she could never have. They could still have each other, she did not need to fear losing him. No matter what, he would stay by her side, helping her in every way he could. He would make her happy, now and forever.

Q.N.

They entered Isis's bedchambers later in the evening after supper. After Isis opened the door, Mahad had picked her up in his arms, carrying her in and spinning her around as she laughed hysterically.

"Mahad!" she squealed in delight. "What are you doing?!"

"You need some cheering up again!" He stated. "I could have killed the entire court, the way they were treating you at dinner."

"Don't get any ideas!" she snapped in good humor, gently pushing at his shoulders to tell him she wanted to be put down. He obliged with only a cheeky grin as his argument. "They were only congratulating me!"

"You mean _bombarding_ you! It was as if you were the first woman to ever become a priestess."

"It wasn't so bad..."

"Says the woman who looked like a caged animal."

"I did _not_!"

"How could you possibly know?" he asked, raising a brow.

"...shut up, you fool." she replied as he laughed.

"Ah, young love!"

The two young lovers turned beyond flustered faces to the other end of the room, where Isis's father stood with that knowing gleam in his eyes. They quickly took a giant step away from each other, blushing madly. Isis gave her father a scolding glare, while Mahad looked as though he were about to get the beating of a lifetime.

"M-M-M-Master Seth!" he stammered before quickly bowing his head. "M-my apologies, sir! If I had known you would be... _not_ to say I would have done anything if you were not... it's not like it looks!" he managed to get out, only causing him to blush more.

But Master Seth seemed nothing less than amused. "Oh? And just what were you _not_ planning on doing with my daughter, Mahad?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

By this point, both Isis and Mahad were red as tomatoes. "Father!" Isis scolded, covering her face in embarrassment. Seth burst out laughing as he stared between his daughter and her lover, who looked completely petrified at this point.

"Oh no, it looks like I've broken him." he said, continuing to laugh. His good humor seemed to calm the couple down a bit, but they were still blushing, both too flustered to make eye contact. This did not escape the priest of the Millennium Rod's notice. "Come now, you two. There's nothing to be embarrassed about!"

"Y-yes, sir." Mahad said meekly. Isis nodded, and glanced over at Mahad with a smile.

Her father smiled as well. "The two of you are perfect together." he stated, no sarcasm apparent in his voice. "It's easy enough to see how much you love one another."

"Thank you, father." Isis said, taking Mahad's hand and smiling. He smiled back at her. Seth, however, did not smile at the happy moment between the two, aware of what he had to say next. It broke his heart to do this to his daughter, but what choice did he have? Even if he ignored the Pharaoh's orders, which he had already done too many a times to count, they would still find out. And he knew Mahad well enough to know that he would not ignore his duty to the pharaoh, even if it meant he would have to leave Isis.

"And it pains me to have to be the one to tell you this," he continued slowly, "But you would find out soon enough regardless."

Isis and Mahad exchanged worried glances, both having an idea of what was happening, but terrified that they were right. "Father, what is going on?" Isis asked.

Seth sighed, and faced his daughter, his expression not betraying his seriousness. "We are going to war with the Libyans." he said. "There is no way around it. The Pharaoh has tried to negotiate with their king's representatives, but they are insistent on their goal to take the Millennium Items for themselves."

"_No._" Isis whispered, eyes wide and body shaking. "No, please."

Seth looked her in the eyes, and in doing so nearly jumped out of the balcony in guilt. "I'm sorry, Isis. I will have to go in the Pharaoh's place, as will you," He locked eyes with Mahad, who looked just as shaken as Isis, though seemed to be more in control of his fear. "For your master."

"Please, please tell me this isn't true!" Isis exclaimed, the tears welling in her eyes. "Father, _please _tell me he doesn't have to go; not now!"

Still he kept his composure. "We are to leave within five days, in order to honor your initiation to priestess."

"I don't _want _to be the priestess!" she screamed. "I don't care about the Necklace or the title or any of it! I will give it up if it means that you will stay!"

"Isis..." Mahad stepped in front of her, laying his hands on her shoulders in comfort.

She glared at him, tears falling down her eyes. "You won't leave me, will you?! You won't keep me here while you go off to die!"

A long silence fell over the room, only her sobs breaking the uncomfortable stillness. He gazed into her eyes, trying to find some way to give her solace, but could find none. None that he could apply to, anyway. He did not want to leave her anymore than she did, but he would not stay, could not stay. He had a duty. To his Pharaoh, to his teacher, to Egypt, and with such a burden on his shoulders, he and Isis would have to be put second. It was cruel, and he was well aware of this, but there was no alternative. She knew this as well, which was why she protested it so.

"...I'm sorry." he finally said, watching in grief as his lover broke down in front of him. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. It is for everyone's benefit."

Isis shook her head in disbelief, "How can you say that?" she whispered. "Does your life not matter? Do _I _not matter?"

"You mean more to me than I could ever tell you." he said, taking her in his arms. "Which is exactly why I must go. If they are after the Millennium Items, then once you are initiated, that will make you a target. Knowing that, how could I even think about staying?"

"No." she muttered against his chest, her sobs turning to powerful torrents. "Please, no."

"I will not die." He told her, all the while praying that he could keep such a promise. "My magic will protect me from harm, so I will return to you. You have nothing to fear."

Yet she took no comfort in his words. He could have been immortal, and she would still be inconsolable. He was powerful, and he had grown more powerful still, but what good could that do with a sword cutting through him?

How could she live with it if he returned to her in a mess of blood and limbs?

* * *

><p>I don't like this chapter. I'm just putting it out there. It's like a giant fruit basket full of assorted garbage, but at least it helps along the transition to the next chapter. I've edited this probably four times or something, and it never got any better, so all I can say is it helps the actual story between Isis and the Messenger get started.<p>

For reading this up to this point, you deserve a fruit basket with real fruit and cookies and pie, but I'm sorry I can't really do that right now. I'm sure the next chapter will come to me so much easier, but for now I have to leave you with this. Reviews would be appreciated, if for no other reason than to give me some semblance of comfort, but as long as someone reads it, that's enough for me.

R&R at your leisure.


	8. Think of Me

Bet y'all never thought you'd here from this story again, huh?! Well, I have to apologize for that. Yu-Gi-Oh in general has really taken a back seat to my new addiction: Pokemon Conquest! So, if anyone reading this has also found the joys of Conquest, I'm writing fanfiction for that game now, if anyone's interested in reading stuff about that game.

More importantly, here is the long overdue chapter 8 of The Messenger of Osiris. This is where the story finally gets more into Phantom mode, and I start to follow what goes on in the actual Movie/Musical a little bit more. I don't want to say too much more, because I know that some of you who have read this since I first put it on here (if any) have been waiting a lond time for me to update, so I'll just end my schtick by saying I hope that this was worth the wait! Please enjoy.

* * *

><p>The days passed by from there in a flurry of tears and laughs, swords and music, sadness and dancing. Through it all, time preserved in its cruelty, and each day went as quickly as next, each worse than the last.<p>

On the third day, Isis's initiation, all the young woman could remember was the pain the Necklace caused her when the Pharaoh placed it around her neck. It was like nothing she ever experienced before, for while it was painful, there was no pain. A burning sensation had coursed through her entire body, yet there had been no burn. She had gone blind for a moment, yet she had still been able to see. Her throat had closed up, yet she could still breathe. And at the end of this ordeal, she was left feeling empty, yet full for the first time in years. Before she had time to comprehend what had transpired, she was whisked away to a celebration in her honor, bombarded on all sides with praises, warm smiles and welcomes into the priesthood by her seniors. When she finally became aware of where she was and what was going on, she tried to find Mahad amidst the crowds, but he was nowhere to be seen. She had seen Nephthys whispering something to her father, priest Karim, and seconds later, he and her own father were escorting her outside onto a balcony. Apparently she had almost fainted. Funny, she hadn't even noticed that she had been falling, or that Karim had caught her just before she hit the ground.

"It's expected." he had told her. "You have been under so much pressure the past few months. Suffer through the festivities as best you can, dear, but retire the moment you no longer are able to endure."

She had left with her father the moment Karim had returned to his family.

"Should we tell the Pharaoh that we are leaving for the night?" she asked as they left.

"In the time it would take for us to find him amongst the crowds of people, I could escort you to your room and return without anyone knowing of either of our absences. Master Akhenaden once told me that people will always find an excuse for a party. Guests of honors and reasons for parties are meaningless so long as there is good wine and entertainment."

"That sounds more like something that you would say." Isis replied.

Seth smirked. "Yes, but it sounds more dignified when it resounds with Master Akhenaden's voice in your mind, does it not?"

"I suppose."

She remembered nothing more of their conversation or the trip between the throne room and her bed chambers. The last thing she remembered of that night was a beautiful voice singing her to sleep after her father had left, and the image of a faceless figure staring down at her just before she drifted off.

The day after, Mahad had been at her doorstep the minute she woke up, promising her with a gentle embrace and a kiss to her forehead that he would spend the entire day at her side, before he would have to leave the next day. He kept true to his word for a few mere hours, until Master Akil had found him and ordered the magician in training to come with him. Mahad had been about to protest, before Isis quickly shoved him in the Millennium Ring holder's direction, telling him quietly that it was better he went than to be whipped in punishment for disobedience. He agreed with her, albeit reluctantly. Before he left, he gave her one final apologetic glance back, and she smiled for his sake, blowing him a kiss. She had not seen him for the rest of the day.

By midday, she had come across Mana, however, who seemed to be the only person in high spirits. It left Isis to wonder: had Mahad even told her that he was leaving?

"What's going on around here?" the little girl had asked. "Everyone's been acting so... weird."

So, Mahad _hadn't_ told her. "Ask Mahad." she had replied. "It isn't my place to tell you."

Mana had huffed at that. "No one ever tells me _anything_!" she groaned.

Isis smiled gently at the child, and knelt down to pick her up. "I know the feeling." she agreed. Mana tilted her head in confusion as Isis continued. "You know, Mana... there have been a great deal of changes lately. And change is good. Sometimes, though, changes happen that we do not like, but we cannot stop them from happening. Do you understand that?"

"Hmm... I guess so." Mana said; it was almost phrased as a question, though. Isis sighed. She knew Mana wouldn't pick up the meaning behind it, but she pressed on.

"Like, when you first arrived at the palace. There were a lot of changes then, right?"

Mana smiled. "I met you! And Atem!" she exclaimed proudly, feeling like she was making a connection to what Isis was saying. "And the food tastes better here than when Mahad was cooking for us!"

Isis giggled. "Yes, those were nice changes." she agreed, recalling how she met Mana. "But there were also new things about the palace that you didn't like. New rules. Fewer children to play with."

Mana frowned. "And Mahad won't play with me no more!" she added. Isis nodded.

"Mahad was learning to be a magician, to take over for Master Akil." she agreed. "But do some of those bad things make you want to leave the palace, and all of the good things that have happened?"

Mana shook her head. "Noooo! Then I wouldn't see you anymore! And it's more funner playing hide-and-seek here with all the pots and empty rooms!"

Isis smiled affectionately. "That's right. Sometimes bad things happen that we cannot change, but that does not mean that we have to be sad about them. What's important is remembering the good things... like... if _I _were not able to be with you for a long time, because now that I am a priestess, I have more things that I need to do. Maybe I won't be able to see you every day like I do now. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you anymore. It just means that you have to wait a little longer to see me. Now, what could you do when you are sad that I can't play with you?"

"Uh...ummm..." Mana thought. "I could play with Atem!" she stated.

"But what if Atem can't play? He is the prince, after all. He has many more lessons and training than you do."

"...oh." Mana said disappointedly.

"But maybe you could find something you like doing by yourself." Isis suggested.

"Nuh-uh!" Mana protested. "It's _boring_ by yourself!"

Isis giggled. "Well, don't you have secrets that you keep just to yourself? Something that's only yours and no one else's?"

Mana nodded. "Mahad doesn't know that I have a puppy named Mehhur!"

Isis's eyed widened. "You have a dog?" she asked.

Mana nodded. "Yep, but he's unvisible, that's why I can keep him, 'cause if Mahad could see him, then I couldn't keep him. And he can do tricks! And he comes when I call him! But Mahad doesn't know... Uh-oh! Don't tell Mahad! Promise!" Mana squealed.

Isis relaxed. An "unvisible" dog, huh? Well, at least she knew that it wouldn't carry any disease. And if it was anything like the pink and blue spotted pet cheetah she had as a child (which always wore a diamond collar that made it invisible in the sunlight), she knew that it was well trained as well. She smiled.

"I promise I won't tell Mahad." She whispered for only Mana to hear. "I'm sure you like keeping Mehhur away from other people."

"Uh-uh; he's just shy." Mana said. "and he's not a'sposed to talk to strangers."

"Oh, so he talks?!" Isis said in mock surprise. "Well, maybe he can tell you some things the two of you could do together when I'm not around."

"Ooo! Good idea!" Mana said, before looking down at the ground. "Uh-huh! Yeah. Really? Wow, that sounds great! You're a smart dog!" grinning, she looked back up at Isis.

"Well, what did he have to say?" Isis asked.

Mana giggled. "I'ma gonna learn magic like my big brother!" she exclaimed. "That way I could do all kinds of things by myself! Like fly! And turn Mahad into a girl! That way I can have a nice big sister like you!"

"That sounds perfect!" Isis said, though on the inside she was twitching. "You would be the cutest little magician ever." Mana? A magician? Not out of the realm of possibilities, seeing how capable her brother appeared to be at it, but with Mana's limitless energy and her knack for finding herself in troublesome situations... well, throw in a wand or spell book, and there was an accident waiting to happen! Still, she had to encourage. Mana was just too adorable to resist.

Mahad would probably be mad at her later for it, though. Oh well! If he got too mad at her, she could always have Mana turn him into a woman.

~Q.N~

"Have you told her yet?" Isis asked the next day as she sat with Mahad in her room.

Mahad shook his head in response. There was no question of who she spoke of. "I thought that she would find out on her own. I know that sounds bad, but..." he trailed off, not knowing what else to say to her besides that. Though no explanation was given, Isis understood perfectly.

"Ignorance is bliss?" she offered.

"...More or less." he agreed, taking her hand in his. "I have no doubt that she'll find out one way or another, though... someone's bound to tell her."

"Do you want that someone to be me?"

"No." he told her. "It wouldn't be fair to ask that of you; you already have so much else to be concerned with."

Isis sighed, yet nodded her consent. "I will take care of her in your absence, though."

Mahad smiled, and gently squeezed her hand in appreciation. "I know you will." he told her. "...She... she really _loves _you, Isis. Almost as much as she does Atem."

Isis smiled at this. "I love her, too." she replied, before leaning towards Mahad and placing a kiss on his cheek. "Just as much as I love you."

Mahad blushed, and looked over at her. Her smile was warm, and it reached her eyes. For a moment, they sat in silence, looking into one another's eyes. Both were beyond grateful for that moment, feeling as though the gods were granting them this single moment where time stood still to fully enjoy their love for one another. Isis was the first to break from the trance. She gave a heavy sigh, and cast her eyes downward, staring at her lap. The smile had faded from her lips.

"Tomorrow you leave." she stated sadly.

This sudden statement surprised her companion, yet he still nodded his head in somber agreement. "Yes."

"...Will you stay?"

He turned to face her, brow furrowed in confusion. "Stay where?"

"Stay with me, tonight." she explained.

Even in her dimply lit chambers, the redness in his face was visible. Multiple thoughts coursed through his mind, most of which he'd rather not share with her. That being said, he had to say _something _to her, and not just sit there slack-jawed like some great fool.

"A-are you...sure?" was all he managed to stutter out, making him wish he had just kept him mouth shut.

Realizing what he might be thinking then, Isis blushed too, and turned to glare at him. "Don't you dare think what I think you're thinking, you pervert!" she exclaimed, lightly swatting his right arm. His blush deepened, and he waved his hands in defense.

"I-I-I-I wasn't thinking what I think that you think that I was thinking! I swear!" he agreed. "I... just... I mean... are you... do you... _really _want me here... alone with you?"

Isis rolled her eyes, glancing away from him again. "Well, if you're going to be acting like a fool about it, I don't." she said. "I just thought that... you'd like to spend the last few hours we have before you leave together."

His eyes widened. "I do!" he protested quickly. "I do. I just... don't want anything to happen. I don't trust myself enough, Isis."

She paused, considering his words. "Do you think your magic will act upon your emotions?" she wondered. He nodded.

"Yes." he replied.

"Why?"

He leaned in closer to her face so she could hear as he whispered to her, "Because I want you."

She gasped lightly, backing away just the slightest bit. This confession sent shivers throughout her body, and her cheeks visibly darkened. His words were like fire, igniting her entire body in heat. He was quick to notice her reaction, and moved his face away from hers, sitting up straight again. Yet his gaze never left her eyes. They sat in silence once again, until he closed his eyes and stood.

"I should go, Isis." he muttered softly. "At any rate, I need to find Mana and put her to bed." Isis nodded, and accepted his hand as he extended it to her. He lifted her off of the bed, and grabbed her other hand, looking into her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Isis." He whispered to her, before leaning down to kiss her forehead. A quiet breath escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes, willing time to slow itself for her once again. Yet she received no such wish as Mahad moved away from her.

"I love you _so much_, Mahad." She whispered to him, and he squeezed her hands gently in response.

"And I love you, Isis." He told her. "I'll come to you first thing in the morning, I promise. ...Good night." He released her hands, and they fell limp against her hips, as though he had taken all of the strength from her. Well, he would certainly need it more than she would, she mused, feeling the cold where his warmth had once been. She did not open her eyes for a long time, but when she did, he had left her. Not knowing what else to do, she walked back to her bed and laid down. As her eyes closed shut, and her thoughts just began to slumber, she heard the angelic voice of the Messenger singing to her once more.

_"Foolish magician;_

_Slave to the throne;_

_Lusting for my goddess!"_

Isis could not respond to this accusation, however, for she had finally entered the world of sleep, and would not remember the words as nothing more than shadows within her dreams of a beautiful faceless man.

**~Q.N~**

Today was the day. The day they were meant to leave. Her father... Mahad... they would both be gone.

Soldiers were scattered before the gates of the palace, bidding farewell to their loved ones, their friends, their families. Others were already at the gates, awaiting the orders to move out. As for Isis and Mahad, they stood in the middle of it all, along with an upset Mana, who was hanging off of her brother's neck like a monkey, and refusing to let go, even with the urging of the two adults.

"Mana, let go now, you hear me?!" Mahad shouted.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!" Mana whined, hanging on for dear life as Mahad tried to gently shake her off.

"Mana, please..." Isis began, though Mana continued to shake her head.

"No no no no no no no no nononono NO!" she continued. "I don't wanna!"

"Wouldn't you rather be with Isis, Mana?" her brother tried to coax her. Mana groaned and pulled on his hair with her teeth, as she still had to use her hands to hang off of him.

"You're a dummyhead, Mahad!" she screeched. "A dummyhead! A big, fat, _stupid_ dummyhead!"

"Fine, so I'm a dummyhead, then!" he agreed with her, "You still aren't going to keep me here. Everyone around you is leaving their families, too, Mana; I can't stay while everyone else goes off to fight! Master Akil needs me by his side, as do the other guardians."

"Master Akil is a dummyhead, too!" Mana cried, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes, "It's not fair, Mahad! It's not fair! You shouldn't go! I want you here!"

"Well I can't! That's just the way it is!" he stated. He felt the little girl lower her head into his shoulder and begin to sob. He sighed, lowering his voice as he continued, "I have to go Mana, but I will be back. And while I'm gone, Isis will be taking care of you. She'll be here to feed you, and play with you-"

"But you WON'T be!" Mana wailed into his shoulder, finally letting go as she felt Isis's arms encircle her waist, Isis gently rocked her back and forth as Mana held her tightly. "Don't let him go, Isis!" she sniffled into Isis's shoulder. "Don't let him go. I want my big brother!"

Isis brought her hand up to Mana's small head and stroked it through her hair. "I'm sorry, Mana," she uttered soothingly, "but this is something that he has to do. And you have to be a big girl for him now. You have to be strong." Mana lifted her head off of Isis, and gazed sadly into the young woman's eyes. She continued to sniffle, but reluctantly nodded her head at Isis before leaning into her and crying again. Mahad extended his arms to take Mana from Isis, and he held his little sister in his arms, gently rocking her back and forth in the same rhythm as Isis had done, uttering soft words of encouragement to the little girl. Isis would have stayed with them, but she noticed her father calling her over to where he stood with Master Karim and his family. She walked over to them after gently rubbing Mana's back in comfort. Nephthys was holding her younger brother, Satoshet's hand, and Karim's wife, Priestess Hanankha, was leaning into his shoulder.

"We'll be off shortly." her father told her once she came over, "I just wanted to make sure I said goodbye to you before leaving."

Isis nodded, before walking into her father's embrace. He held her for a few moments, before gently kissing her forehead and brushing some hair out of her face. He smiled fondly at his beautiful daughter, who was the very image of his late wife. He turned to Karim and Hanankha.

"You will take care of her, Hanankha, won't you?" he asked. The priestess of the Millennium Headdress smiled warmly.

"You three have always been a part of our family, Seth." Hanankha reminded him, saying three so as to include Seth's deceased wife, "Isis is as much a daughter to me as my Nephthys is." Nephthys smiled in agreement to this, looking at Isis.

"We are as sisters, Sisi, just as the goddesses we are named for." she added, "It is our sworn duty to look out for each other."

Isis smiled at this. "Which means that I will be taking care of you two as well." she stated, glancing over to Satoshet. Upon her gazing at him, the ten-year-old boy blushed, and looked away. He would always get flustered in the presence of pretty girls, especially Isis.

"Your son inherited your taste in women, it seems." Isis heard her father muttering to Karim, who responded with a glower in his direction.

"Perhaps it is Isis that inherited her mother's charm and appeal." Karim shot back, "After all, she couldn't have gotten it from you."

"I charmed my love, did I not?" Seth retorted, a smug grin on his face.

"You two can never be put together without finding something to battle about, can you?!" Hanankha scolded, crossing her arms over her chest, "I'd like to see how you intend to fight off the enemy whilst you fight amongst yourselves!"

"You would be surprised how well two old rivals can fight off new enemies, my Lady." Seth told her.

"Seth's arrogance has always served him well." Karim said to his wife, to which Seth laughed in agreement. "By the same right, so has my strength. Both will keep us safe from harm."

Hanankha smiled and nodded. "I know they will. Please, take care, my love." she sighed.

"I always do." he assured her, before kneeling down to his children. "Satoshet, I am counting on you to keep your mother and sisters safe while I am not here to do so myself." At the word 'sisters', he looked to Isis, who became flushed at being included in their family. She couldn't help but notice that her father seemed a bit annoyed by this fact, however. "Prove to me that you have what it takes to become a guardian one day."

"I will, father." Satoshet declared proudly. His father smiled, and patted him on the head.

"That's my boy." Then he turned to Nephthys, "My little princess." Nephthys's eyes lit up, and she came closer, taking her father's hand in both of hers as he placed his other hand over them. "You know exactly what you are to me."

"You are my world, Father." Nephthys said, "Satoshet is your son, who lights and warms your brightest days. This makes me your moon and stars, who guides and protects you through your darkest nights."

Karim nodded. "Yes, you two are the light in my life, and so long as you are with me, no darkness will ever dare to come for me." he said, taking both of his children into his arms. "I love both of you more than anything in this world."

"Ahem!" Hanankha coughed, drawing her husband's attention to her pouting face. He chuckled.

"Except for you, of course, my dear!" he said, not wanting to face her wrath. "What is the earth without the sky, after all?"

"Of course." the priestess stated sarcastically, but smiled fondly at her family nonetheless.

"So where do we stand in this little world of yours?" Seth asked, resting a hand on Isis's shoulder.

Karim stood and glanced at Seth, his face masked in annoyance.

"Well." he said, "You, my friend, are like the venomous serpents and pestering vermin that constantly insist to be a royal pain in my backside."

Seth chuckled. "Is that so? Forgive me to argue. I feel that I am more likened to the waters that give your dry, desolate lands life and prosperity."

"Only one person has that honor." Karim corrected him. "However, since she is no longer here, I believe that Isis would be most fitting to take her place."

Isis blushed, flustered at being compared to her mother. Karim smiled gently at her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You are her daughter." he tells her. "Remember that always, for there is no higher honor in this world." she nods, and embraces him just as she had her father. She pulls away after a few seconds, and Hanankha walks over to her, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. Isis can tell that the older woman is trying to keep from crying.

"We should go now." Seth tells Karim. The priest of the Scales nods, and gives one final look at his children before turning and walking away. Seth is about to do the same, when Hanankha grabs his hand, and he turns back to face her.

"Seth." she begins, "Please..."

"I'll keep him safe, Hanankha." Seth promises her with a nod of his head, "He has far too much to live for, so I intend to keep him alive for it." he glances down to Nephthys and Satoshet, smiling in acknowledgement. He then turned to Isis. "And I'll keep Mahad safe, too, dearest." he promised her. "So long as I am able to stand and fight, none shall come between my allies and their loved ones, nor my daughter and her lover."

"Father!" Isis scolded, blushing in embarrassment. He chuckled, and turned around to leave again as Hanankha let go of his hand.

"You all take care, now." He said right before he left to stand with Karim, "I expect you all to be here to praise me when I bring back Karim and Mahad in one piece."

_Just his way of saying, "I want to give them a family to return to". _Isis thought, knowing her father well enough to understand his ways. She looked back over at Mahad, who was still holding Mana where she had left the two. Nephthys, who had looked in their direction as well, smiled at Isis, before running over to the brother and sister, leaving Isis surprised. She watched for a minute or two as Nephthys spoke with Mahad, before extending her arms for Mahad to give her Mana. Even more surprising was that the child did not try to escape from the young girl's grasp. Once Mana was secure in her arms, Nephthys gestured over to Isis, and Mahad looked in her direction. Nephthys said something else to Mahad, before walking away with Mana still in her arms.

Once she came back to her family and Isis, her mother took the other girl from her daughter's arms, who Isis saw now had fallen asleep. Poor thing probably wasn't able to handle all of the stress this ordeal had caused her.

"We had best take her inside to rest." the priestess said. "Come along Nephthys, Satoshet. You two shouldn't be out here right now, either."

"I will join you in a moment." Isis told her. "There is one other I need to say farewell to."

Hanankha nodded in understanding. "Take all the time you need my dear." she said, giving a final glance back to where her husband had gone, before walking into the palace entrance with the three children. Nephthys looked back over her shoulder at Isis once, winking and gesturing towards Mahad. Isis blushed, but understood the gentle urging from her friend, and walked over to him. He smiled at her as she came toward him, and held his hands out for her to take.

"That girl has a way about her." he said, "Isis and Nephthys... are your names only a coincidence?"

"I was named for the goddess," Isis explained, "but Nephthys was named for my Mother. She was... close to Master Karim."

Mahad nodded. "I will miss you, Isis." he said solemnly, "I will think of you every moment until I return to your side once again."

Isis nodded. "And I you." she replied, attempting to keep her own tears from falling in order to stay strong for him. "I will wait for you until you return for me." she promised.

"What matters to me more than anything is your happiness." he told her, looking straight into her eyes to show her his seriousness on the matter. "Listen to me, Isis, please. I have faith that the power of the Millennium Items will protect us all from harm, and lead me back to you safely. However, in the event that an ill fate should befall me- no, Isis; please listen!" he said as he noticed her opening her mouth to protest. "...Should something happen to me, I do not want you to grieve for me. What I want is for you to be happy in your life, even if I am not there to be with you. You are too beautiful to be seen crying."

She sniffled, quickly shaking her head to prevent any tears from falling. He smiled sadly at her. "My father says that he will keep you safe." she told him.

"Then I must offer him the same courtesy." he responded.

Before more could be said between them, a voice called Mahad's name from behind him. Both turned to see Master Akil glaring at Mahad some ways away. They also noticed that most of the army was already in position to march now. They had little time left.

"Come on, boy!" Master Akil hollered to him. "The army will be leaving any minute now; you are to be at the front with me and the other guardians!" Mahad nodded quickly to inform his teacher that he had been heard, before turning back to Isis, his eyes saddened.

"Well, then, I had best be off now." He told her, "Just remember, I love you with all my heart. No amount of miles between us could ever change that."

She nodded her head at his words. "I love you, too, Mahad." she said honestly. "I'll pray for you every day and every night."

"And I will surely dream of your face each night." he told her. Not able to think of anything else to say, and knowing that there time was all but out anyways, he quickly brought his lips to hers, trying to put all of the passion he could into that final gesture of love, before breaking it to look into her eyes one final time, making certain to remember their color. He released her hands, said a final farewell to her, and turned around to join Master Akil. Before he could, however, Isis grabbed his arm and brought his attention back to her once again. A single tear had fallen down her face, but she ignored it as she looked at him.

"Before you leave, just promise me that you will do one thing for me, Mahad." she begged him.

He turned to face her fully, and slowly lifted his hand to wipe the tear off her cheek, brushing back some of her hair as he did so. "What would that be, Isis?" he asked. She let in a deep breath of air and closed her eyes before she continued with her request, and when she did, the words left her in song rather than words, which to her, seemed better:

_"Think of me;_

_Think of me fondly;_

_When we've said goodbye."_

_"Remember me;_

_Once in a while;_

_Please, promise me you'll try."_

_When you find;_

_That once again you long;_

_To take your heart back and be free."_

_"If you ever find a moment;_

_Spare a thought for me."_

* * *

><p>Aww! Mahad's leaving Isis to go to war! Will he survive and return to her?! ...Oh, you know the answer already, anyway!<p>

Well, we had quite a few of my OCs in this chapter (Karim's family and Isis's father), what do you think of my characters? I use them regularly in my fics, so I hope they're not too annoying! Especially not Nephthys, since she is my main OC, who is a part of almost any project I work on.

Otherwise, I hope this update was to your liking. I have a good idea of how I want the next chapter to go, so maybe I'll be able to get a good amount of it done over the weekend. I really want to wrap this story up so I can move on to other Pokemon Conquest related projects, after all. Ah, just kidding! I still have a lot of other stories for Pleashipping that I want to get done, so once I finish this, I'll select one of those to do!

r&r at your leisure!


	9. The Thief King's Demands

I am SO sorry that it's taken me this long to update for something should have only taken two days to finish. To be perfectly honest, I've been in a bad place emotionally just in regards to my writing and art. I feel like all of it doesn't matter and that I'm achieving absolutely nothing regardless of whether or not I apply myself. I mean, no one's going to read this anyway, so what's the point.

However, I have made a promise to myself that I would finish this story, and finish it is what I intend to do. Right now, that's the only thing that has been motivating me is that I keep the promises I make, no matter how long it takes me to make true on them.

I feel beyond miserable about this chapter, but if even _one _person gets enjoyment out of this story, then I can find solace in that. So please, enjoy.

* * *

><p><em><strong>~4 years later...~<strong>_

Isis stood outside her bedroom balcony, gazing out at the rising sun. She always woke up early to watch Ra ascend into the heavens, a ritual she had learned to love over the past four years, since her ascension to her role as Priestess of the Millennium Necklace. At first sunrise, the palace was still in a relative state of peace, even with the few servants that would already be awake to prepare things for the Priests and Pharaoh for the day, and the guards that held post from sunrise to sunset. Occasionally, Nephthys would also wander the corridors, and the two would meet and talk before their morning rites were to take place (Nephthys had inherited the position of Priestess of the Millennium Headdress from her mother three years ago.), but for the most part, Isis was usually left alone to her thoughts. Today particularly was a day to think, to _hope. _

The war was over.

Today was the day that the soldiers were expected to return.

Most of the soldiers _had _returned already, but Master Akhenaden had promised Pharaoh Atem that all remaining soldiers would be brought back today. And there was only one man left that she needed to wait for.

Mahad.

The others had returned at random times throughout the course of these past years, yet not all had returned alive. Isis had suffered another personal loss when her father had returned with his body being carried into the Palace, dead. They had managed to save it amidst the chaos of battle in order to give him the proper burial rites, and have him mummified and buried in the tomb that had been built for him, right next to her mother's. Isis had been devastated to hear that he had been killed in battle, but that had only been half of the tale. The soldiers who had carried him back to the palace had informed Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen that his death was one of a hero. Apparently, he had taken the blunt of an attack that had been intended for Master Karim, and that before he had died, he had used what was left of his strength to murder the man that had struck him, the chief commander of the assaulting army. Priestess Hanankha had burst into tears after they had told the dead man's story, and fell to her knees, repeatedly thanking Seth for his sacrifice. Isis had escorted the older woman out of the throne room and back to her chambers. She, herself, had been crying through the story, but her tears were short lived. Heroes were not meant to be mourned, but remembered, and in the very final moments of his life, a hero is what her father had been. So she was able to smile to the heavens that night, and pray that he could see that smile. She knew it was how he would want her to honor his memory. She had told the Messenger of Osiris about him, and he had brought her news of him from the Afterlife. He was finally where he was meant to be again: with her mother. It was all he had ever desired, and she was happy that the man was once again complete. The Messenger had also conveyed to her the will of her parents. They asked that she remain in the care of the Messenger, as he was the gods' blessing to her. This had initially scared her, the thought of such a powerful entity constantly watching over her, but her heart was quickly steadied by his sweet, soft voice, and his silken words of comfort.

After her father had returned to the palace, the matter of the Millennium Rod was put into question, just as it had been when the previous priestess of the Millennium Necklace had died. Since Isis had ended up inheriting the Millennium Item of her mother instead of Master Seth, the Priest had no heir to present the Rod to. After much thought and speculation, a decision was reached among the older Priests. Isis had also been expected to give her input, but her opinion had mostly been swayed by the voices of her elders. And of all the voices, none had been louder than that of Priest Akhenaden, who had personally suggested that his own apprentice, a boy named Seto, take up the position of Priest of the Millennium Rod. Seto had completed his training for the priesthood earlier than most, and with some of the highest scores in its history, his level of skill and wisdom on par with Nephthys's own. Hanankha had agreed with Akhenaden's proposal on the basis that none of the other apprentices were prepared to take on the position of an Item bearer at the time, with the exception of her own daughter. But Nephthys was already being prepared for taking the Millennium Headdress from her. Akhenaden still had time to locate another successor for himself, but the Millennium Rod required immediate attention. Isis had agreed as well, only because she could give no alternative suggestions of her own. She knew Seto. Perhaps not on the personal level that she did Nephthys or Yamaht, but she had been acquainted with him. The boy was two years younger than her, making him the youngest to ever inherit an Item from one of the previous owners. He was as serious as they came, and was determined to prove himself to everyone he came into contact with. Isis admired him greatly, a boy who came from nothing, climbing up the ranks of society on his own merit to stand as one of the Pharaoh's six Sacred Guardians. He rarely spoke to others outside of his teacher, and on occasions, the prince himself, but in the rare times that he spoke to her, their conversations would consist of him asking her questions about his lessons or some meditation techniques. Never did he indulge in personal topics of either one of them, nor small talk. Seto had no time or place for such intimate discussions. Although, Isis suspected that the boy held a soft spot for women, as he addressed she and other females with courtesy, as opposed to his male peers, who were lucky to get so much as a curt nod from him in passing. She was a bit embarrassed to say that this fact had greatly swayed her opinion; she, in turn, held a soft spot for a gentleman.

Karim and Shada had both returned early, and alive. They had been called back for a number of reasons, none the least of which was Priestess Hanankha's passing. Karim had returned to mourn his dead wife, and Shada had escorted him back. Both had stayed in order to discuss who to take over the Millennium Rod from Priest Seth, and also to witness Nephthys's initiation as the new Priestess of the Millennium Headdress. Priest Akil had returned briefly for both events as well, but returned to the battlefield quickly. Isis had asked of Mahad's whereabouts to him when he returned, but he had assured her that his apprentice was still alive, and still fighting. The priest of the Ring hadn't bothered bringing Mahad back with him; they'd have returned to battle within the week anyway. Isis had been disappointed, but she had also been understanding. If Mahad had returned with Master Akil, chances are she wouldn't have let him go away again.

Karim and Shada had stayed, however, in order to assist the two new priests in assimilating to their newly appointed duties. Priestess Hanankha had been doing the same for her when she had been given the Necklace. It was tedious, but necessary for the senior priests to continue mentoring and watching over their juniors as they adjusted to their respective Millennium Items. They helped them to cope with the nightmares, the anger and anxiety, and the voices and shadows that seemed to come from nowhere. Karim was assisting his daughter with this phase, obviously, but to tell the truth, it didn't seem as though such terrors were affecting Nephthys as it did with the other Item Bearers. Either that, or she hid it very well, as she didn't even complain to her father, and her smile never lost its shine. Seto, on the other hand, was clearly suffering from the usual experiences, and trying to hide his fears from the sight of others. Isis saw the change in him the day after he received her father's Item. His nights were restless, his eyes were always darting around, glaring at some nightmarish creature that only he could see. And even though he maintained that air of collected aloofness, he had grown to become easily irritable. Proof of this was when he had snapped at a group of children who had been playing in a corridor and had almost run into him while having their fun. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't let such a thing bother him; he was usually very kind to the children in the palace.

This all happened within the course of a year, and for a time, things began to return to some semblance of normalcy. In spite of the mysterious ailments that overtook Seto and maybe Nephthys, both new priests seemed to take to their duties with ease. In fact, it wasn't a year later that Nephthys had been recommended to take over for Master Shimon as vizier to Atem when the older man passed away or decided to retire. Five months proceeding this, Seto had risen to the rank of a high priest. Nephthys had joked once that Seto was working so hard to climb up the ranks because he didn't want to be outdone by her. Isis had laughed with her at this observation, finding some truth to that statement. Seto _did _hold very little respect for the younger girl, even though she was technically in a higher position of importance. Actually, it was the same way for Karim and Shada as well. The one person aside from Master Akhenaden that he seemed to place any value on was her. Isis was in a lower position than Seto was, which made her unintimidating to him. She was also a lady, and she knew what Seto's stand on treating women was.

Karim and Shada, along with Seto, had returned to the battlefield for a few times, and each time they left, they returned quicker than the last, and the time they stayed in the palace became longer. This gave Isis hope that the war would soon be over. The only one of the priests who did not return was Priest Akil and his apprentice. Because of his mastery of magic, Priest Akil was indispensable for Egypt's military, which was why he had only returned twice in the last four years. The first time was to oversee the initiation of the two new Item Bearers.

And the second time was when he died.

He had returned to the palace in the same way her father had been. The only difference that could be told was that he had not died in combat, but rather from old age. He had also returned without his item _or _his apprentice. The soldiers who had brought his body back had no information about Mahad's whereabouts, some of them even unaware that Master Akil _had _an apprentice.

No one was able to give her an answer, and Isis feared the worst. Truthfully, she had been dreading this day since Priest Akil was brought back three months ago. If Mahad was alive, then he would surely come back today. But if he didn't return... she didn't even want to think about it. It would be heartbreaking enough to hear the truth if that were the case. So instead, she focused on other things. Such as her memories of him, and the short time that they spent together before he had to leave.

Also, she wondered about what would happen if he should, indeed, return today. It had been four long years since last they had seen each other. Many things had changed for her since then, and she knew that many more things had likely changed for Mahad. Her father had once told her that war has a way of bringing out the worst of any man. Although Mahad may return, he would not be returning as the boy she had known those four years ago. He would be returning as a man, and a Guardian of the Pharaoh's sacred court. If what she suspected was true, and Mahad had acquired the Millennium Ring from Master Akil, then what horrors had he endured upon becoming the Item's new holder? What could the Ring have done to him in the short time he has had it for? Her mind flashed back to Seto again, and how cold the young boy had turned upon obtaining the Rod. She didn't want Mahad to become the same way.

But more than anything else, she feared that he may have forgotten about her. They had been good friends. She remembered fondly how he had taught her magic, and walked with her in the courtyards. A smile touched her lips as she remembered the small crush she used to have on him, but she quickly brushed off those memories. She knew he had probably never felt the same. He'd certainly never shown any sign that he was attracted to her. And even if he had, she no longer held the same infatuation she did all those years ago.

Still...

Her heart had been pounding all morning, knowing of his return. She was anxious for his return, and more eager to see him than she thought was appropriate. Especially since her heart already belonged to another man. No, she had yet to be married, but she was very much in love with him, the man who had been selected by her own parents. A man whose face she had never seen, yet his voice filled her dreams with song, and followed her every day. The man who adored her just as much as she did him. So why was it that Mahad's name elicited the very same feelings in her heart? Why was it that she wanted Mahad to walk through the Palace gates just so she could run into his arms and feel them encircle her? Why was it that a childish infatuation had suddenly rekindled itself within her heart?

_Remember... _her mind told her in a far off whisper.

Remember? What was it that she had forgotten?

_Think of me..._

She began humming suddenly, a tune that she wasn't familiar with. Yet somehow the words in this melody began to form in her mind, as though she had known this song all of her life. Softly, the words to this melody left her mouth. She sang them in a small whisper, as though hoping that if she sang it aloud, it would help her to remember its long-lost meaning.

_"We never said our love was evergreen;  
><em>_Or as unchanging as the sea;  
><em>_But if you can still remember;  
><em>_Stop and think of me."_

_"Think of all the things we've shared and seen;  
><em>_Don't think about the way things might have been."_

_"Think of me;  
><em>_Think of me waking;  
><em>_Silent and resigned."_

_"Imagine me;  
><em>_Trying too hard;  
><em>_To put you from my mind."_

_"Recall those days;  
><em>_Look back on all those times;  
><em>_Think of the things we'll never do."_

_"There will never be a day.  
><em>_When I won't think of you."_

She would have continued to sing the melody that had floated into her head, had it not been for an intrusion at her door. Without consideration to announce herself before entering, a young woman of Isis's own age burst into her room, humming her own off-key tune before stopping upon sighting the priestess on her balcony.

"Isis, you're needed in the throne room immediately. His _lordship_, Priest Seto, is about to be inducted as High Priest." The woman stated, voice brimming with mock extravagance as she waved her right hand with unnecessary flair.

Isis rolled her eyes in irritation and turned to her somewhat-friend. "Yamaht, I thought Priest Seto wasn't to be given his formal rites until the soldiers returned." she questioned.

"Don't remind me." Yamaht groaned, running her hands through her silky black hair, minding to avoid the head piece that displayed her status as a minor priestess. "I overheard him arguing with the Pharaoh yesterday to move his ceremony to today for matters regarding his 'safety'."

Isis was about to reprimand her fellow priestess for her eavesdropping, until that last part came out. "'His safety?'" she repeated.

"Yes." Yamaht nodded. "Our resident 'Thief King' has apparently sent another note to him. He felt that the note implied that a disaster would befall him upon the day of his ascension to High Priest, so he's had the Pharaoh secretly move the ceremony to today. If you ask me, he's only using the Palace folklore in order to outshine the returning soldiers."

"You think so little of him, Yamaht." Isis interjected. "His arrogance is not to be confused with selfish conceit."

"Regardless, I stand my ground." she stated, "If he can speak so little of me, then I shall speak even less of him."

Isis sighed. "That stubborn attitude will come back to haunt you one day, my friend." she implored. "In any event, I should head down to the throne room, if Priest Seto has indeed requested it. Care to join me on the walk down?"

Yamaht smirked. "Is that really a question, or are you just being polite?"

Isis smiled, and headed towards her door with Yamaht in tow. "Neither; I simply like to feel that I had a choice in whether or not you would accompany me." Yamaht laughed at the accusation, but did not deny it. "So then, how is your family?"

Yamaht rolled her eyes. "Must you care so much?" she whined. "If you must know, however, father's still impossible, mother's still dead, and my brother's still an idiot. Even the cat decided that she hated me the last time I visited. Decided to use my left leg as a scratch post, the little bitch."

Isis looked disappointed by the bleak response, though it was nothing she hadn't heard from the woman before. Yamaht hadn't changed much in the last four years, and perhaps her relationship with her family had the largest part in it. In some small way, Isis couldn't blame her. The woman's father used her as a tool to climb the social ranks with, and even though her mother was long dead, she knew from what Yamaht had told her that her mother had never been very much of a mother anyway. The one thing Isis had never understood, however, was why she hated her brother so much. The young man was her twin brother, and by every measure her polar opposite. In spite of her vanity and stubbornness, Yamaht was still a clever, resourceful, and headstrong young woman, capable of getting her way through whatever means necessary. Her brother, on the other hand, was a much more passive, quiet person, who preferred to err on the side of caution rather than to take risks that could get him in trouble. Yet for one so reserved, he was also a kind and honest young man, who was pleasant to speak to when his voice wasn't overthrown by that of his boisterous sister.

Though the negative comments didn't deter Isis. "Does your father still expect him to take over the family business?"

Yamaht shrugged. "Not my concern. It's ultimately Kosa's decision, seeing as father won't be able to do a thing about it when he's dead anyway."

Isis nodded, though she gave a small smile. She knew that Yamaht only called her brother by name when she was either happy with or worried about him. Otherwise she either addressed him as 'brother', or some insulting title such as 'idiot' or 'fool'."

"But please, dear." Yamaht urged with an exasperated moan, "Can we please talk about something other than my pitiful circumstance of birth. We both know that you have more to talk about than I do today, what with you-know-who coming home."

Isis furrowed her brow at this comment, not entirely sure of what Yamaht was implying. "What in Ra's name are you rambling about now?" she asked.

Yamaht smirked, and nudged the other female with her elbow. "Oh, don't be so shy about it, Isis. I know Mahad's been on your mind all morning, hasn't he?"

Isis blushed, and looked away in mortification. "I-I _am _very much looking forward to his return." she agreed with a shaky voice. "We were good friends..."

"Lovers, more appropriately." Yamaht corrected, violet eyes continuing to playfully tease her friend, "No need to be so coy about it, darling. We're friends, are we not?"

"How can you say such absurdities out loud like that?!" Isis wondered quietly, still flustered from the accusations. They were passing through a corridor close to the throne room now, where a group of female servants were busying themselves with scrubbing the floors and walls. Though they all stopped to quickly bow as the two priestesses passed by, and a few even said good morning to them. "Tell me, do you get enjoyment at my expense? I have a reputation to uphold, and you spouting nonsensical accusations does not garner me any...!"

"A better question:" Yamaht interrupted. "Does it make _you _happy to know you're dampening the merry atmosphere?" she asked, pointing at Isis as she suddenly danced in front of her, earning the attention of the maids, a few of which giggled under their breath.

"Yamaht..." Isis said with disapproving eyes.

"Not another word!" her friend continued, skipping and twirling around the corridor. "Come now, Isis; if ever there was a day to drop the formalities, this would be the day. The soldiers are coming home at last; you really think anyone will notice should you decide to loosen your robes a bit, as the expression goes. Tonight everyone will be too drunk from wine, too dizzy from dancing and too deaf from singing to pay each other any mind, take my word for it!"

"And by the looks of you, it appears you've started early." Isis deadpanned with a roll of her eyes. The comment only encouraged her less eloquent priestess to laugh heartily and start up a song that was usually sung at the end of times of war. The servants around her giggled themselves before joining in good naturedly.

_"With feasting and dancing and song;  
><em>_Tonight in celebration;  
><em>_We greet the victorious throng;  
><em>_Returned to bring salvation!"_

"By Ra, you really are drunk, aren't you?" Isis asked in disbelief.

Yamaht only smiled. "Don't seem so upset, dear. You should be celebrating!"

"What Lady Isis _should _be doing is performing her duties to the Pharaoh in favor of entertaining your likes, priestess." came the harsh reply of a new voice.

All eyes turned to the origin of the voice, a beyond irritated looking Priest Seto. His sour expression was as tight on his face as his grasp on the Millennium Rod. He was garbed in the robes of a high priest, Isis noticed, as his usual decor was substituted for blue and white robes, and a great deal more gold than she was used to seeing on him. The servants immediately changed stances upon his arrival, all bowing and returning to their work. Even Isis herself felt a bit of unrest at being caught in the mix. Yamaht, however, did not bat an eye at the much higher ranking priest.

"Goodness, My Lord; you shouldn't look so serious." she stated, "This is a day worthy of celebration. Or have you neglected to remember the returning soldiers?"

Seto approached the shorter woman, the sneer never leaving his face. "The soldiers are of no concern to me until the exact time that they return, woman. And until such a time, we, the Sacred Guardians of the Pharaoh's Court, will act in the service of his majesty. If you wish to waste your time reveling in the way of a fool, be my guest. But if you have any respect for we, your superiors, you will do well to separate your tomfoolery from our duties."

"You could show a bit of decency, you know." Yamaht replied. "I am a priestess, after all."

"Yes; well, we'll certainly see how long that can last with your constant disruption of palace activity."

Isis attempted to draw attention away from Yamaht before she could stick her foot in her mouth. "My apologies, Master Seto." she apologized, bowing to the younger man. "I requested Priestess Yamaht to escort me down to the throne room. I had no intentions of holding either one of us up."

Seto simply snorted at the woman as she righted herself. While he held a certain degree of respect for Isis and her abilities, it annoyed him to no end how patient and forgiving she was with others who didn't deserve half as much, especially Yamaht and High Priestess Nephthys. "Apologies are a waste of your time and efforts, Isis." He told her. "You can repent for your errors by joining the other guardians in the throne room. Now come along; and kindly leave the trash where it is." He said nothing more as he turned with a swish of his cape and left.

Once out of earshot, Yamaht huffed a sigh of frustration. "I have a few choice words for that arrogant, conceited, callous...!"

"Hold your tongue for a more worthy discussion." Isis instructed her. "He speaks true enough; I shouldn't have distracted myself so." she turned to the now dejected priestess with a gentle smile, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let us continue this conversation in private later, alright? I'll have more to talk about then, I'm sure."

Though she was still frustrated with the arrogance of Priest Seto, Yamaht conceded to her fellow priestess's compromise with a halfhearted grin. "Very well. Just know, I intend to hold you to your word."

Isis chuckled behind her hand. "I wouldn't expect any less of you. Farewell." After giving a quick bow of the head to Yamaht, she turned and walked quickly down the corridor to catch up with Seto. There was still some ways left to the throne room, yet Isis didn't expect Seto to attempt conversation with her, much less after such a confrontation.

"I take it you're expecting someone to return today?" he asked suddenly. The casual comment surprised the Millennium Necklace holder, yet she managed a calm reply.

"Just an old friend of mine. I promise my anxiousness won't interfere with my work, though." she assured him.

Seto hummed briefly before answering. "I'd expect nothing less from you." he stated.

There was a moment of silence after this. Compared to the activity that she had been immersed in prior to meeting with her fellow Item bearer, it was disconcerting. It was when things were silent that she always heard the voice. His voice.

"I take it your ceremony has been moved to today." Isis stated, gesturing to his change of wardrobe, mostly as an excuse to fill the silence. "I suppose early congratulations are in order."

"With all due respect, My Lady, you should save your praise. I have yet to be promoted, after all."

Isis smiled and nodded. Seto's philosophy was to give credit where credit was due, and he expected people to give him the same treatment. That was why she knew Yamaht was wrong about Seto, he never expected those he talked down to to bend down and grovel in front of him; he wanted to be treated no better than how he treated others. "As you wish."

They still had a ways to go before entering the throne room, and Isis was still trying to find a way to make conversation. It was normally an area she excelled in, yet the difficulty came from Seto's lack of willingness to contribute. Suddenly, her eye caught sight of something as they passed the courtyard; some_one_, actually. In the form of a young girl with wild brown hair and bright green eyes, clutching a magic staff in her right hand. Their eyes met briefly, and Mana smiled cheerfully and waved to the priestess. Isis smiled and nodded her head in recognition at the magician in training. As it happened, Mana had been a lot older than Isis had initially expected. While Isis had thought the small girl had been about five or six years, she had actually been nine when they had first met. This, she had discovered quite by surprise when Mahad's sister had ran into her room one day two years back in a panicked torrent, sobbing that she was bleeding. After the initial shock had died down, Isis had in turn calmed Mana down, explained to her about the female cycle, and helped her get cleaned off, which further confirmed that the younger girl was much older than her height and childish behavior had made her appear. Now, after gradually undergoing a growth spurt, Mana was finally beginning to look her correct age of thirteen years. She still had a rather immature, impish personality, but Isis did little to change this. While it could be a bit vexing at times, she loved Mana's quirks and her silly antics, and she adored the way that the girl looked up to her as an older sister figure.

Mana's eyes flashed briefly away from Isis as she turned back to the path she was walking, when she did a double take, and her eyes widened in shock. Isis noticed the change in personality, and quickly glanced to where she was looking, as Mana shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Master Seto; look out!"

An low rumble sounded from one of the pillars that Seto was passing by, and suddenly it seemed to snap and fall towards him! Fortunately, he reacted to the danger fast, and leaped out of the way of the fast-falling pillar as it hit the floor, shaking the surrounding area. The ceiling the pillar had been supporting collapsed as well. From all around the area, servants were screaming and calling out in fear.

"He's here!"

"It's the Thief King!"

"He's struck again!"

"Did anyone see him?!"

At the mention of the name "Thief King", everyone was driven into a frenzied upstir, looking everywhere for anything suspicious. In the chaos, Isis was able to keep a clear head and ran around the destroyed column, over to Seto. His headdress had fallen off, and he was lying on the ground, supporting his frame with his elbows. Isis knelt down beside him.

"Seto; are you alright?!" she asked, searching for any indications of pain from him.

"I'm fine, Isis. Please, save your pity." he replied, before glaring at the panicking servants as he roared a "SILENCE!" as loud as he could. This effectively quieted the entire crowd of onlookers, who quickly turned and bowed to the furious high priest-to-be.

Seto made to stand, with Isis offering her arms for support, but he brushed off her sympathetic gesture. Mana quickly ran up to them as Isis stood as well.

"Isis! Master Seto! Are you alright?!" she asked, and was whisked into a comforting embrace from Isis.

"Yes; we're fine, Mana." she promised the girl, stroking her hair. The comfort was short-lived as a rough hand grabbed Mana by the arm and pulled her away from Isis. Seto glared down at the magician in training, eyes cold as ice.

"So, another spell gone horribly wrong, magician?" he seethed, "Why am I not surprised."

"What?" Mana said in a small voice.

"His highness has given you leeway before for these little _accidents_, girl, but I assure you, this time I'll see that you receive suitable punishment for your errors." he declared, strengthening his grip on her.

Mana grunted in pain, and tried to struggle out of his grasp, which only made the pain worse. "I didn't do it!" she protested. "It wasn't me! It was the Thief King; I saw him on the roof!"

Seto snorted. "The Thief King? Surely you can come up with a more believable lie than that! You won't get out so easily as it is!"

"Seto, she isn't lying!" Isis defended, "I saw her walking in the courtyard before the pillar collapsed; this is not Mana's doing!"

Seto glanced at Isis. "You expect me to believe this is the work of the palace ghost?!" he asked with clear disbelief.

"I don't know who or what is responsible, but it certainly wasn't Mana." she continued.

"Forgive me, Isis, but you have a habit of defending this girl." Seto stated, returning his glare to Mana. "I'll yield her innocent only if there is proof of such."

"Seto!"

The three turned to the direction of the demanding tone and saw the Pharaoh running towards them with the rest of the court in tow.

"What happened here?!" Atem demanded as he reached the three.

"The would-be magician's magic happened, My Pharaoh." Seto explained.

"I didn't do it, Prince; I swear!" Mana protested.

"You have some nerve talking to the Pharaoh with such brazenness!" Seto scolded.

"Seto, release her." Atem ordered, going over to Mana and removing Seto's hand from her arm. "You have no place accusing Mana of this without any evidence."

"So what _did _happen?" Karim asked, walking over to the crumbled pillar to inspect the debris. His daughter followed him over, walking idly around the mess, her dark brown eyes perceiving a look of interest over the scene of chaos.

"An attempt on my life, if what the girl speaks is true!" Seto declared, irate at being corrected by the Pharaoh. Karim sighed, while Nephthys's face betrayed a smile and a shake of her head.

"Isis, what happened?" he asked the woman directly. knowing she would give him an honest answer.

"The column broke apart and fell towards Seto." Isis explained. "I had stopped to greet Mana; there was no way she could have been responsible."

"It was the Thief King!" Mana repeated, earning her the attention of everyone present. A few people around the palace over the past few years had claimed to see a mysterious figure with white hair and a red robe just before strange accidents would occur. most of them were directed at the priests. Many had taken to calling him the Thief King, or the Phantom of the Palace. The first name came from the disappearance of several items, most of them valuable, throughout the palace. Many believed this was the same being who was causing the accidents. Although so far no one had yet to come forward with real evidence of such a man or spirit living in the palace.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Akhenaden snapped, "That is just a palace myth created by the servants. There is no real merit to those rumors."

"Well, Thief King or not, this was no accident." Karim stated, pointing towards where the column had broken. "The pillar was sliced through perfectly straight. Even if there was previous damage done to it, or the result of a spell, it wouldn't have broken off so evenly.

"It looks as though a blade sliced through it." Shada agreed, coming up to the pillar's foundation and running his hand over the smooth surface. "A very sharp blade."

"No tool has the power to cut through solid stone so perfectly!" Akhenaden said.

"Then what is responsible?" Atem asked. "Seto and Isis could have been killed; we need to find what exactly happened here."

"The apprentice magician is still a worthy suspect." Seto stated.

"I didn't do it!" Mana declared angrily.

"Seto, she's telling the truth." Isis insisted. "Please, the best thing we can do is remove this rubble and find evidence of who the true culprit is."

As this discussion continued amongst the other priests and the Pharaoh, Nephthys continued to walk around the perimeter of the debris, more or less taking Isis's advice. Suddenly, she caught sight of something sitting on top of the crumbled stone. Her eyes widened slightly, and she leaned over to pick up the item, a scrap of papyrus. She observed the letter a moment, before walking back over to the others.

"Ahem." she cleared her throat rather loudly, gaining the attention of her fellow priests. Content with the cooperation, she smiled and held up the letter.

"Perhaps the culprit can shed some light upon his most recent escapade." She waved the papyrus around for emphasis. "The Thief King was kind enough to leave this for us, we may as well hear him out."

"By the gods, you're all obsessed!" Akhenaden declared furiously. "Are we all supposed to simply buy into this nonsense of a ghost haunting the palace."

Seto agreed with Akhenaden completely, yet he didn't deny the evidence in the High Priestess's hand. Storming towards Nephthys, he made to grab for the letter, but the Millennium Headdress holder was quicker. She smiled.

"I know that patience isn't you strongest virtue, Seto." she chided, "But do try to behave as a gentleman. Unless, you have no desire to hear what your would-be assassin has to say."

A moment of silence fell over everyone, until Isis became unnerved again. "What does it say, Nephthys?" she asked quickly. Nephthys smiled, and turned back to read the letter aloud.

"It is addressed to you, your highness." she began. The others who were present stared at Atem as Nephthys continued, " 'I humbly welcome you to the throne, Prince Atem, and extend my high expectations for your reign. My apologies on sending such late blessings, but I needed the extra time to prepare a proper welcome, one big enough to garner your attention. Quite a pity I had to vandalize a part of my palace, but I believe I've made my message very clear.' "

"_His _palace?!" Seto asked in outrage as Nephthys continued.

" 'Respectfully, I have allowed you an opportunity to carry out the proper funerary rites for the former pharaoh, as well as to ascend the throne in his place. It should be brought to your attention that your father owed me a debt that he could not fulfill before his untimely death. Regretfully, I now must humbly ask that you present me with his dues. First, I humbly request the full use of the vacant bedchamber in the Royal Wing. In addition, I ask that no one enters without my permission, as I hold my privacy in the utmost of importance. Second, I shall be expecting a payment of gold be sent to my chambers by this month's end.' "

"A _payment?!_" Akhenaden roared.

"...'Two thousand gold seems a reasonable amount to ask from the man who holds all his kingdom's wealth in his hands.' "

"_TWO THOUSAND!?_"

Nephthys rolled her eyes, becoming peeved by the constant interruptions. "Do you suggest we may pay more, Master Akhenaden?" she commented wryly, turning back to the letter. " 'Finally, I will demand a tribute from each of the members of your Sacred Court, for each one of them holds an item that is my property. I shall respectfully give you seven days to complete these expectations, as well as to return the eight Millennium Items into my possession. Please leave each one at the doorstep to my chamber, along with my expected payment. I am truly honored to have had this chance to do business with you, My Pharaoh. I certainly hope, however, that I shall not have to negotiate with you and your court again. Let us hope that there shall be no further 'accidents' to occur to any of your Guardians in the coming week. Your faithful servant, TK.' "

Nephthys's smile returned to her face upon finishing reading off the letter, and raised her head to look at her fellow Guardians. "A poet after my own heart." she declared. "Though, his methods of negotiation could stand to be improved."

Seto's face flushed with anger. "This is not something to be impressed by, girl!" he scolded Nephthys, ripping the sheet from her hands before tearing it into pieces. "Did you not just read the ramblings of a mad man?!"

Nephthys did not lose her cool. "I also recall a fallen pillar that would have crushed you if fate had not been on your side, High Priest." she replied.

"Why you-!"

"Perhaps, this is a situation better discussed in private." Karim interjected, coming between his daughter and Seto while shooting the latter a warning look. "We don't need rumors of this being spread through the palace any more than it likely already has."

"I agree with Karim." Atem stated, though he seemed to be unnerved by the letter. Isis couldn't blame him. She herself felt more than a bit frightened.

"This is utter nonsense!" Akhenaden said, turning to Atem. "Pharaoh, as a member of your Sacred Court, I suggest that the wisest course of action would be to ignore that letter altogether. Clearly, whoever wrote it wants us to play into their game, and I will not allow you to fall into a trap!"

Atem paused to consider the elder priest's words, but quickly fixed his uncle with a determined gaze. "I fully intend to ignore that letter, Akhenaden." he stated. "However, what I will not ignore is that someone is threatening the safety of those in my court." he turned to address the rest of his priests. "Everyone, to the throne room. We are to devise a plan to deal with this incident, and prevent further assaults of this nature. Seto, may I ask that we postpone your promotion to a later time?"

Seto nodded. "If you deem it necessary, My Pharaoh." he said with a bow.

Atem nodded. "I do." he turned to Isis. "Isis, if you could please escort Mana to her room before we carry on with this."

Isis nodded, but next to her Mana's shoulders slumped and her mouth fell open to let out a long whine.

"Aaaaaawww! But why do I have to leave?"

"You're not a member of the court, Mana." Atem reminded her gently. "Besides, I want you to be safe until we decide on a way to deal with whoever is responsible."

Mana still looked upset, but didn't argue as Isis put a hand on her shoulder and led her towards her room. Before they broke away from the group, Atem considered something, and called to the two girls.

"Wait." They turned back to him. "Isis, please have a servant or guard escort you to the throne room after you're done with Mana; if this so-called Thief King is still lurking about, I don't want you to be without some protection. The Millennium Necklace didn't predict that assassination attempt just now, so I'd rather not take chances."

Isis nodded. "Understood, my Pharaoh, and I thank you for your concern." She turned and continued to walk away. The last person they passed was Seto, and as they did, Mana looked up at him and stuck her tongue out before remarking under her breath:

"I told you I didn't do it."

* * *

><p>Now, I'm fully aware that the time lapse makes things incredibly confusing, so allow me to clarify a few things.<p>

Isis has forgotten all about her past relationship with Mahad, but at no fault of her own. You could almost say that she was brainwashed by someone. Someone who she seems to be very much in love with at the moment. However, her emotions are also conflicting in regards to her relationship with the Messenger of Osiris. She isn't entirely sure if she loves him or fears him, or a mixture of both. This internal conflict will become more defined as the story progresses, so things will become more clear in later chapters.

Also, I've included Bakura in a most peculiar fashion. Anyone care to take a guess on what role he'll be playing?

Mahad will not return for at least another two chapters or so, mostly because I need to establish the goings on in the Palace before he returns and reunites with Isis.

I'd appreciate some constructive criticism, or at least a few pointers if anyone thinks I need them. Anything to get me out of this low I'm in inspiration-wise right now. Also, I still am eager to hear what people think about my OCs, particularly Nephthys, who I'll go into further detail with later. Yamaht, though a rather prominent OC of mine, is really just for some comedic effect. She'll play some minor importance here and there, but Nephthys is the one I really hope for people to focus on.

That's all I have to say for now. I only hope that I can do better in the next chapter for the sake of my own self-value, as well as any potential readers of this story. Thanks to all who have been keeping up for their support.

r&r at your leisure.


	10. Messengers and Thieves

And we've finally reached the much-anticipated milestone for this, or any other story - ten chapters! With a little over 50k words, that's nothing to scoff at, and I for one feel very accomplished. So for now, I'll ignore the fact that it took me over two years to get to this point, seeing as I'm still working on my first independent novel after seven years, and instead focus on the positives.

To start, I want to personally thank everyone who reviewed so far, especially last chapter. I feel as though many of those were the result of my pathetic self pity party, but they were appreciated just as much, if not more-so! So, a big thank you to **Spearshake**, **The Duelist's Heiress**, **Alyssa A**, **Aqua girl 007**, **Thasiloron**, and **XxB-ChanxX**. I hope that I can make the rest of this story just as review worthy for you! The support means so much!

I've read everyone's reviews word-for-word, and I'm taking all questions, comments and critiques into account. However, in case I _did_ overlook a question you may have had, then feel free to either ask again, or continue reading to find the answers in the story. For the most part, everything should explain itself, but if something is really nagging you, I'll try to give an informative answer without revealing too much. I'll also answer questions that have nothing to do with the story if you like. Heck, I'll spend years of intense research and meditation if you ask me what the meaning of life is in a review! I'm just exaggerating, of course, but you get what I mean.

As for this chapter, I use a lot of my OCs again, in terms of time, not quantity. To my knowledge, all the OCs I am using have already been presented. So far, I've decided that Yamaht's family will not make any appearance in this story, and Nephthys's younger brother, Satoshet, will only make minor appearances when needed. Yamaht will only play minor roles as well, and Nephthys is important to the story's development, which I'll go more into this chapter. Hopefully I didn't overdo it.

Well then, with nothing more I can think of to say, onto the much-anticipated chapter 10! Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Do you believe me, Isis?" Mana asked as the two continued walking to the guardians' living chambers. Seeing as Mana was the younger sister of one of the guardians, she had a room nearby the other priests. It was a long walk from where they had been, and an even longer walk to the throne room from there. Fortunately, Mana was not the kind to remain quiet and idle, so Isis had her voice to focus on. At least for the moment. Perhaps if she was lucky, she could find someone she enjoyed talking to for when she went to the throne room; in the very least someone who like to run their mouth off. Yamaht quickly came to mind...<p>

"I _know _that you weren't responsible for that column collapsing, Mana." Isis assured her.

"Yeah, but the part about the Thief King... do you...?"

"Well, you saw something." Isis stated matter-of-factly, "But what makes you think what you saw was the palace phantom? No one has ever seen him face-to-face."

"He looked the way that most people describe him: white hair; red robes..." Mana stated before trailing off. "And Nephthys found that note, like the ones that he's been leaving at the other accidents."

"It's convincing, I agree with that." Isis responded, shivering as she remembered the contents of the note, as well as the tone of Nephthys's voice while reading it. "However, I don't believe that we're dealing with a spirit."

"Why not?" Mana asked with a tilt of her head.

Isis turned to the girl. "Because ghosts don't leave blackmail notes. I think someone inside the palace is doing all this, and in some ways that's actually more terrifying than a ghost. Especially if they've evaded the detection of the Millennium Items for as long as these accidents have been occurring."

Mana paled. "Yeah, that _is _scary!" she agreed. "What if he comes again?"

"Then we'll be prepared." Isis said with a smile. They had stopped outside of Mana's room, and as Isis looked around, she noticed that there were no servants to be seen. Mana noticed the emptiness as well, and looked nervous about it. Isis quickly caught onto this, and put her hands on the teenage girl's shoulders, gently squeezing them.

"I'm confident that everything will be fine, Mana." she said, never losing her smile. "The cause of these misdoings _will _be caught; the Pharaoh shall see to that. And remember, Mahad is coming back today along with the rest of the soldiers, so now all of the Millennium Item holders will be together. What power could possibly stand against all eight of the Items together?"

Mana's eyes widened. "Wait; that's _today_?!" she asked incredulously. Isis's smile widened; she must have forgotten.

"Yes, they'll be returning today. So you'll be able to tell him that you were well taken care of in his absence."

A huge grin formed on Mana's face, and she began to jump up and down in place. "YAY! Mahad is coming back! Mahad is coming back! Mahad is coming back!" she chanted, as she started to jump and dance around a chuckling Isis. Though the moment lasted briefly, as Mana stopped and gasped, her eyes going wide again, this time in panic.

"Oh no! What if the Thief King decides to target the returning soldiers! Mahad is in danger! We need to warn the Pharaoh!"

Isis groaned, before grabbing Mana's arm to keep her from running off. "Calm down; I'm sure he'll be fine. And even if that was the case, I wouldn't let you go running off on your own anyway. The Pharaoh told me to take you to your room." She said sternly.

Mana pouted. "He never said I had to stay there." she noted.

Isis's face tensed. "I'm not giving you any flexibility this time, Mana. If someone with the intent to kill is hiding in the palace, then I don't want you wandering alone. So promise me that you will stay in your chambers until I or another of the guardians comes to get you. I do _not _want to hear that you snuck out for _any _reason, and I do intend to inform the servants and the guards to be on the lookout for you, along with that assassin on the loose."

Mana looked disappointed, but sighed and nodded. "Okay, I promise." she agreed. "Just as long as I get to see Mahad when he comes in."

"Of course." Isis said with a smile, taking the girl into her arms, partly for comfort, and partly as an apology for keeping her locked up. "You should be the first person to welcome him back."

Mana smiled. "Just promise me I won't have to watch you two kiss in front of me."

Isis blushed at that, gently pushing away from Mana. "Wh-wh-why would I _kiss_ him?!" she asked, her voice just as flustered as her face. "We're only friends!"

Mana frowned at that. "I'm not a little kid, Isis!" she said dejectedly, "You don't have to pretend that you and Mahad aren't a couple."

Her blush deepened. "First Yamaht, now you, Mana?! Why is it that everyone assumes that we were together romantically?"

"Because you are." Mana stated simply, though her brow furrowed in concern. Isis had never spoken about Mahad ever since he had left to fight in the war. Mana had assumed it was because she didn't want her to become upset about his absence, or because she didn't want to be reminded of it herself. This was strange, however, that she didn't want to accept her relationship with her brother. Was Isis worried that she wouldn't approve? No, that couldn't be the reason. Mana loved Isis like an older sister, if not more-so. Maybe it was because Mahad had been gone for so long, that she was afraid he no longer loved her, so she was trying to pretend she felt that way, too. There had to be some other reason she was denying it, because there was no way she could have just...forgotten Mahad.

"Wait..." Mana queried, "Is this one of those things where you're trying to keep your relationship a secret to make it seem more exciting?"

Isis's eyes widened, looking more than a bit affronted by that idea. "Where did you hear of such things?" she demanded.

Mana smiled. "So I'm right?" she wondered.

"No!" Isis exclaimed, "But who filled your head with such things as secret relationships?!"

"Uhh... I might have heard Yamaht say something about those kinds of things. I think it was her."

"Why am I not surprised?" Isis thought out loud before directing herself back to Mana. "Listen, I don't want you taking advice on relationships from anyone but myself, you understand? If you hear anything about men that doesn't come from my mouth, ignore it."

"Okay." Mana said uncertainly, "Does that include Mahad, too?"

Isis thought about it a moment. "Well... I suppose that Mahad would be fine. He is your older brother, after all. I doubt that he would try to give you misleading advice."

"And Atem?"

"_ESPECIALLY_ _NOT_ Atem...er, the Pharaoh!" Isis exclaimed.

"But we're friends..." Mana reasoned.

"You don't take advice from men about men if they're not related to you, and even then you shouldn't!" Isis stated, leaving no room for further debate. Not that she didn't trust the Pharaoh, but she certainly questioned his relationship with Mana. She didn't need Mana thinking that it was acceptable to be with him in such an intimate way without the knowledge of others. Because it certainly wasn't!

"Okay..." Mana agreed, though she was still a little confused as to why she couldn't ask Atem about other boys.

"Good." Isis sighed, not for the first time flustered by a conversation she had to have with Mana. "Now please, stay in your room for a while. If for no other reason than to calm my nerves.

Mana nodded. "I promise." she said.

"Thank you." Isis sighed gratefully. "Don't worry, I'll try to come for you later, rather than send someone else." she stated, before walking away."

"Okay." Mana said, before a thought crossed her mind. "Oh, Isis!" she called.

Isis paused, turning back to the younger girl. "Yes?"

"Pharaoh told you not to go back alone!"

Isis smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I have a guardian of my own watching over me."

~Q.N~

The walk back had been uneventful, save for the voice that had been following her to the throne room. The meeting had been even less eventful. Save for the Pharaoh ordering the guards to remain on the lookout for any suspicious activity, no plans had been decided in how to deal with the mystery assailant. Seto and Master Akhenaden had immediately stated that every servant be brought before the court for questioning, a feat that could take days to accomplish. Karim and Shada had managed to talk them out of this clearly unreasonable measure, and Nephthys had given her say on the matter as well.

"I think that the wisest course of action for the moment would be to keep the soldiers on guard for any suspicious activity, and dismiss as much of these rumors regarding a thief king as we can among the residents of the palace." she stated.

"We can't do that, Nephthys. The people need to be aware that there is a killer on the loose, and that he's most likely still hiding in the palace." Shada reasoned with her.

"But we also cannot risk any panic obstructing our chances of finding this man." Nephthys responded. "If we invite these tales, then there will no doubt be servants crying wolf all over the palace. We can't have that."

"We certainly cannot." The Pharaoh agreed. "However, I can't let the people be left ignorant of such blatant danger. We will have the head guards inform the servants to report any suspicious movements of any servants or guards to them. Make sure they do not make any mention of the thief king, palace ghosts, or any other such comments. We must instate as little panic as possible."

"And regarding the note addressed to you, my king..." Nephthys began.

"Ignore it for the time being." Atem answered. "I refuse to be intimidated by a coward who won't even show his face to me."

"Of course." Nephthys agreed. "However, perhaps it would be in our interest to send a group of guards to investigate that vacant room in the royal wing."

"I agree. Send some of the guards close to the royal wing to investigate, but no more than five. Our main focus is to remain on the most populated areas of the palace."

For the time being, little else could be done. Within the hour, the soldiers were set to return, though Isis had noticed some activity at the front gates of the city, which likely meant that some had arrived before the others and were being greeted by their families. The grand celebration would not be until later in the evening, though, and would be opened to the vast majority of the public. Before all of that, Isis had decided that she go to the Temple where she would converse with the Messenger of Osiris before preparing for the festivities. Nephthys was accompanying her, mostly because the Pharaoh had still advised the priests, or anyone for that matter, to not travel the palace alone. And walking beside Nephthys was her ever-faithful feline companion, Pharaoh. To Isis, it was almost reminiscent of something from her past, her going to the temple, finding Nephthys and her cat along the way, music, ghosts...

"Having trouble keeping a clear mind?" Nephthys asked suddenly, breaking her older companion's train of thought.

"...What?" she asked, startled by the sudden interruption. For a moment, she had forgotten that Nephthys was even there.

Nephthys smiled. "The Millennium Headdress." she explained, "It's giving me some insight to your thoughts and feelings right now. They're a bit... scrambled. Like you're trying to put an image together, but you don't have all the pieces to do so."

Isis sighed. "I know; it has been that way since this morning."

"Actually, you mind has been that way for a while now." Nephthys stated. "Whenever we've been together, I can feel your thoughts. They have been scrambled for a long time."

Isis was interested at that. "How long?"

Nephthys shook her head. "Since you inherited the Millennium Necklace. Actually, no; just a bit longer than that."

"Then perhaps it's the Necklace's doing?"

"Mm. Maybe." Nephthys shrugged, looking away. They remained quiet for awhile, before Nephthys decided to speak again. "Do you know why I love animals?"

Isis blinked, not certain where this seemingly random change of subject came from. "...Because ...they are cute?"

Nephthys chuckled. "Besides that." she corrected, "They are so blissfully single-minded. All Pharaoh ever thinks of is eating fish, taking naps and chasing birds. Humans were not made to have that sort of simplicity within them."

Isis smiled in understanding. "It doesn't take so much of a toll on you."

"I dislike knowing other people's secrets." Nephthys stated, "Especially on such trivial matters. It wastes my energy. And Father worries, you know."

So that was what it was about. She should have known. Even as a young woman, Nephthys would always be a daughter before anything else.

"Do my thoughts distract you too much?" Isis asked.

Nephthys shook her head. "Not at all. It's easy to ignore repeated images. When you start thinking about different things, that's when it takes more energy from me. Similar to staring at the same wall for a long time, and then being told to look somewhere else. Suddenly, the mind has to focus on so many new things it becomes overwhelming. But to keep staring at the same wall requires no real effort."

Isis smiled. "What do I think about?" she wondered.

"The Messenger." Nephthys stated, "Your parents, Mana. And Mahad, especially today."

Isis looked away at the mention of Mahad's name, a light blush forming on her face. Nephthys looked at the gesture, and her smile faded, knowing the truth of it. Isis thought of Mahad frequently, but she didn't know it. His was the image in her mind that she didn't have the pieces to form. What pieces she did have were so rearranged that it was impossible to discern their true form. What remained instead was a well woven string of haunting lullabies and a face beyond recognition.

"You don't remember him, do you?" she asked.

Isis gasped at the gentle accusation, and turned back to the girl. "I remember him." she said automatically, not realizing the lack of truth in her words.

"If you did, you wouldn't be here right now." Nephthys said, gesturing to the Temple of Horus before she began to climb the steps up.

"Uh..." Isis stalled, not sure how to respond to that. Nephthys didn't stop to wait for a response, and continued on her way, Pharaoh at her heels. After a moment's hesitation, Isis finally realized that Nephthys was heading into the Temple herself, and this broke the seer from her stupor.

"Nephthys." she called, and the other priestess paused and turned to look down at her. No response was given, so Isis continued. "Were you... planning on seeing him? Now?" she asked hesitantly, trying to hide her disappointment.

But Nephthys's quick mind allowed her to catch onto Isis's hidden desires, though it didn't matter to her. While she wished that she could tell Isis to leave, to stay away from Him altogether, she knew that would only cause more problems than just letting them see one another. Until she could come up with another plan, the safest thing to do was to let him assume control.

"No. I just planned to lend myself some peaceful meditation before tonight's festivities. The temples are usually less populated than the palace this time of day." Isis's shoulders dropped a bit, a sign of ease. Nephthys smiled. "How many times have I told you, he does not speak to me."

Isis reddened again, realizing her mistake. "My apologies, Nephty. I just..."

"Don't apologize." the girl assured her as she bent down to pick up Pharaoh. "Humans may not be as simple-minded as animals, but that does not mean they are any harder to understand." Her eyes gleamed for a moment "Just don't spend all night down there. I'll be looking for you at the banquet tonight."

Isis shook her head. "I would not miss it for anything."

"I hope not." Nephthys responded, before turning and continuing on her way up. She heard Isis walking behind her quickly, though no more conversation was made until the two exchanged farewells before parting down opposite hallways. Nephthys clutched Pharaoh closer to her, hoping to gain some comfort from the gesture. She wasn't scared, mind you. There was little that scared her. But she was stressed. She needed a plan to deal with this before it got too out of control, if it had not already. Isis would be safe for now, but she had to worry about the others. Her Father, the Pharaoh, her brother, _**Her Father**_! If they were in any danger, she needed to figure things out as quickly as possible before...

A shadow caught the corner of her eye as she passed by an empty tributary room. She turned swiftly to watch as a flash of white just dashed behind a statue. He was here? After such a stunt, he was wandering around the temple?

"_I would like a word, if it is convenient for you._" a voice whispered behind the statue.

Nephthys considered the invitation briefly, mapping out the layout of the temple in her mind to determine just what treasures, if any, he had placed in this room. A secret corridor behind the statue, and that was all she knew of. The traps were closer to his 'throne room', and in the labyrinth. She sighed, showing more weariness than anger. Though she was a bit angry with him, she'd ignore it for favor of a more patient approach. That was the wisest course to take.

"...Coincidentally, I would care to have a word with you as well." she agreed, walking into the room. She stopped in front of the statue, opting to not go around to face him. That would accomplish nothing. She needed answers quickly.

"_Regarding the 'accident'?_" he asked. He sounded innocent and sincere. She knew better.

"I do not wish to pass judgment. I only want to know that it will not happen again."

"_That is up to the guardians._"

"You forget that I am one of them." she stated. "Am I to be involved in such an 'accident' should I refuse to relinquish my Item to you?"

This time no answer came. But he was still there. So she waited. Still, he did not speak. Her patience ended.

"I will stop you if it has to come to that." she said, still calm, still collected. "I'd rather you let me help you find a peaceful way to deal with this, though. I do not condone the use of violence, least of all against my family. And as a Guardian, I am sworn to-" She stopped, and turned back towards the door. Someone was approaching.

"Don't you leave yet." she requested, her eyes focused on the door. A woman entered not two seconds later, blinking into the dark room as to adjust her eyes to the lack of light. Nephthys tensed slightly. It was Yamaht.

"Nephthys?" she asked, still squinting into the darkness.

"Yes, it is I." the high priestess responded simply, curtly. Anything to get her out of here as quickly as possible.

Yamaht shoulders could be seen slouching as she came further into the room. "Of course; who else would be talking to herself alone in the dark?" she muttered rhetorically.

Nephthys wasn't fazed by the comment. "I was meditating." she said. "What is your reason for wandering the corridors?"

Yamaht shrugged. "My father will be present for the festivities, along with my brother, so I'm looking for a safe place to hide while they're here. With any luck, they will decide to leave without trying to find me."

Nephthys furrowed her brow. "Your brother has been to war. Don't you want to welcome him back?"

"Not in the slightest." Yamaht declared, scrunching up her nose as though disgusted by the very idea. "Not everyone has the perfect family you claim to have."

"So I have been told." the priestess replied. "There's a secret passage in the back of the temple, inside the fountain room. Try your luck with that hideaway if you like."

Yamaht eyed the younger girl suspiciously. "Really? You're not going to impart some sort of philosophy on family to me?"

"The strength of words can only be determined by the strength of the ears and mind that hears them."

Yamaht rolled her eyes. "Sorry I asked." she groaned, "So, what's in the secret passage if you are letting me use it? Spiders? Beetles?"

"I was not aware that you were afraid of insects." Nephthys wondered.

"I'm not. But I am used to your pranks."

At this, Nephthys's eyes widened, and she had to suppress the urge to smile, even though she doubted that the woman would see it in the dim light of the room. "P-pranks?" she asked innocently. "Whatever are you referring to?"

Yamaht scowled. "Oh, my mistake. You probably prefer to think of them as, 'life lessons'."

Nephthys let the smile come at that. "Why? Do you learn something from your constant humiliations?"

"Yes: never trust a girl with black-and-brown striped hair!" she exclaimed.

Nephthys giggled. "You are paranoid."

"Is there any other way to be?"

Nephthys calmed down. "Isis is in the back of the temple at the moment. Perhaps you will bump into her if you head that way?"

Yamaht perked up at that. "You know, that's all you had to say in the first place. We were having a conversation earlier in the day that I would like to get back to."

"Strange, that's what you say every time you are apart from her." Nephthys replied with a smile.

Yamaht returned it. "The conversation that never ends." she stated jovially. "In that case, I'd best be on my way so I don't end up missing her."

Nephthys nodded. "Then may I trust you to get her to the throne room before the night is out?" she asked.

"I don't think that will be a task; she's sure to be at the celebration to welcome back Priest Mahad."

"I wonder about that." Nephthys mumbled so that Yamaht couldn't hear it. But she was already gone without another word.

_Rude, but at least she's gone._ she thought, exhaling a sigh of relief. Though she wondered if he had stayed for that whole thing, or if he had left to pursue Isis knowing that she was in the temple.

"_I will spare you and your family._" he spoke up. Well, that answers that. "_But I cannot be held responsible if they choose to come after me. If you want to lessen the bloodshed, I suggest you do your part to keep it from happening._"

"I am not a puppet. _Please_, I know who you are, and I know that you are a good person. Do not let your heart be consumed by evil."

Her words held no sway on him, however, for he was gone. He hadn't even stayed to hear a response. Well, so much for talking to him. Maybe it wasn't too late to resolve this peacefully, but now she needed to be clever, seeing as he won't give any leeway on his part. The first thing that she needed to do was to block off as many of his passages as possible, so to restrict his movement through the temple and palace. Maybe she could start by blocking off the one connecting the two locations together; then he would be chained to only one place. Of the two, the temple would be the most ideal. Could she trust him enough to not come after her for it, though? She wasn't sure, especially not in his current mentality. Best to go small and slow. If she began with the passages that he uses the least, suspicion could be drawn from her long enough to really cripple him. For now, she needed to keep a constant eye on him. She quickly exited the temple, and went into the open courtyard outside. No walls, no rooms, and no hidden corridors behind them. She set Pharaoh down, and kneeled to his height in front of him, stroking his head with her palm. This elicited a sweet purr from the white feline.

"Keep a constant eye on him." she said in a low voice. "Only return to me when danger is forthcoming. I leave the rest to you." she said. A responding mewl answered her, and the cat ran back into the temple, ready to locate its target. Nephthys sighed again. He only knew Pharaoh to be an ordinary cat, so there shouldn't be any much trouble in the event that he was discovered. And anyone nearby would also have protection if they needed it. She paused. That was also something that she had yet to consider: his ka. If he unleashed _that monster_ on any of the guardians, they might not be able to stand up to it. Her own ka had a way to counter the tremendous might of his, but it would do no good if she wasn't around to use it. More planning had to be done, that much she knew in certain. But for now, she just hoped that the measurements she had in place were at least enough to slow him down.

She had doubts.

On the other side of the palace, Isis was kneeling before the shrine to the Messenger of Osiris. She lit a candle before the shrine, and waited for him to speak to her as he usually did. Yet even after several minutes went by, she still did not hear his voice resonate within the walls. Had he ever not spoken to her when she summoned him before? She couldn't recall a time when she could not hear him singing to her. Had he forgotten her? She waited a bit longer, until she finally decided that he would not answer. She sighed. Well... as long as she was still in his shrine, he would hear her prayers.

"I am scared." she said aloud. "Seto could have been killed today by this criminal. And had I not stopped when I had seen Mana, I fear that I may have been at risk as well. The Millennium Necklace is growing more and more silent each day that this Thief King remains uncaptured. I worry that when I finally gain my Sight back, it will be too late, and someone will die. The other guardians are the only family I have left in this world. Should any of them die, I could not forgive myself knowing my visions could have prevented it. Please, my most beloved protector, I ask that you show me the way to protect my family."

"_I~I siiiiiiiisss!_" a voice suddenly called to her, seemingly from nowhere.

Gasping, Isis stood from her genuflect. He was here! Only, this voice did not sound like his. It sounded more... female? Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"_This is the voice of your subcooonscioooouuss!_" the voice continued. Her confusion melted into angered annoyance. It wasn't him. Well, it could only be one of two people she knew, and she prayed that out of those two, it was Mana and not...

"_I~I am here to answer your praaaayers!_" the voice said.

Isis rolled her eyes. Ra, why couldn't it have been Mana? She couldn't bring herself to beat Mana over the head! "The only thing I pray for is that you shut up and get over here so I can hit you over the head, Yamaht!" she shouted back.

She turned around to watch as the other priestess came down the steps, looking annoyed herself. "You can't go along with a joke." she stated with a deadpan voice.

Isis scowled. "What are you doing down here? I had the entrance closed behind me."

Yamaht walked over to her and looked around the small room, barely big enough for one person, let alone two. "A little bird mentioned this place to me just now. To be more specific, a little cat."

Isis perked up at that. "Nephthys?"

Yamaht looked away from the other's face and held a hand up between them. "I'm not giving any names." she responded simply. "Not when they can be used as leverage later if necessary."

Isis shook her head. "If it _is _Nephthys, then don't bother. She can't be bribed or blackmailed."

"Why not?"

"Because she is honest, a trait you could stand to learn from her."

Yamaht scoffed. "I'd rather not be subject to her so-called virtues." she stated, still glancing at the shrine around them. "So, _this _is where you run off to when no one can find you."

Isis glared. "Yes." she answered with some reluctance. Not that it mattered anymore, though, seeing as her secret hideaway was already discovered. "I'd prefer to _keep _it that way, but knowing you..."

"What does that mean?" Yamaht demanded, turning back to the seer with an open scowl. "Are you implying that I cannot keep a secret?!"

"Well, you have yet to prove otherwise to me." she replied.

Yamaht's frowned turned into a confident smirk. "Then allow me to prove otherwise now. It's not like you really have any other option, short of me telling the rest of the Temple staff, not to mention the Pharaoh- which I would _**never **_do to you!" Yamaht added quickly, seeing the other woman pale at what she assumed had sounded threatening. "I promise, if it means that much to you, I'll not tell a soul."

Isis breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." she exhaled, placing a hand over her heart to calm the throbbing in her chest. Yamaht noticed the tension collapse, and raised a brow in suspicion. Just why _was _this place so special to her, though?

She cleared her throat. "Well, if it's all the same, I wouldn't mind knowing just _what _I'm keeping secret for you." she remarked. "Just was _is _all of this for? You didn't make up a shrine for your Mahad, did you?"

Isis turned deep red at the mention of Mahad again. "_**It's nothing like that!**_ And all of this was here before I even discovered it!" she exclaimed, before turning back to the statue of the Messenger and lowering her voice back to normal. "It is a shrine to the Messenger of Osiris."

"Who?" Yamaht asked.

Isis looked at her, stunned. "You never heard of him? Mother told me stories of him all the time."

Yamaht raised an eyebrow again. "Perhaps it was a story from her city of birth. You mentioned that neither of your parents were originally from the capital city."

Isis thought about that; Yamaht was right, actually. That was probably the case. "I suppose it is." she agreed, "Well then, he is the spirit who watches over those who have lost their loved ones to a tragic death. He is a connection between the living and the dead, who helps to keep them united across the two planes." She paused a moment, waiting for an inevitable question to be asked.

"Interesting story..." Yamaht commented, recalling her former teacher, the late Lady Nephthys, in her mind. Although she had not approved of her father sending her to train to be a priestess, she had adored her teacher to no end. When she had died, it had been a tragic loss on her part. She'd dare say she mourned for her teacher's death more than she had for her own mother's, which wasn't much in itself. Yamaht wasn't the kind to mourn. Even so, she knew that the toll on Isis had been much worse. Isis had loved her mother just as much as the younger Nephthys adored her own father. The blow was very hard, and the same could be said for when Master Seth died as well. Isis had taken it badly, and it had no doubt scarred her. The lesser priestess wondered if this was connected to said scars.

She didn't say anything else to this, so Isis continued. "It is more than a story, Yamaht, believe me. You see... when mother had died, I began to notice a presence around me at all times. It was strong and gentle, and it kept me safe wherever I was. A voice filled my mind with beautiful, heavenly song, and that very voice led me to this place. And here, I would always come, every day, to light a candle for my mother, then two candles, when my father died. And he would come to me, in voice, and sing to me. Even in my dreams he comes, and fills them with beautiful song. It is him, Yamaht. It is the Messenger of Osiris who sings to me, and keeps me safe."

Yamaht tuned out most of what her friend was saying, only hearing the gist of it. Master Karim's daughter had told her about things like this before, although she didn't pay the girl any mind. It seemed too unbelievable, the things she spoke of. That the mind was capable of creating visions or fantasies without the consent of the person. Humans were in control of their minds, and humans were able to discern between what is and what isn't. However, if anyone had the potential to lose control of their mind, Isis was a fair contender. With the powers of the Millennium Necklace, the constant melding of past, present and future, naturally it could be difficult for Isis to discern between what was real and what was not. Yamaht wouldn't lie; she had no precognitive abilities to boast for herself. The only thing she had was a few little known tricks her father had taught her in order to get her into the palace. But Lady Nephthys had taught her some true magic since her acceptance as an apprentice, and she had since seen things that she could not explain through any logic. So she had a general conception of what sort of things a true clairvoyant like Isis could see. It could make any person a little mad, perhaps even delusional. Her closeness to her deceased parents did not help matters, either.

"Isis." she asked her, gently. She was madly curious now. "Do you believe... do you think that your parents sent this spirit to watch over you while they cannot?"

"Of course." Isis whispered, smiling fondly. "What else could it be?" she looked back at the shrine in wonder, her eyes dazed and flickering with the light of the candles. "_Mother once spoke of a guardian. I used to dream he'd appear. Now in her death I can sense him, and I know he's here. Here in this room, he calls me softly. Somewhere inside, hiding. Somehow, I know he's always with me. He, the unseen genius._"

"_Isis, you must be mistaken._" Yamaht stated, looking at her friend with worry now, placing her hands on her shoulders. "_Stories like this can't come true. Isis, you're talking of madness, and it's not like you._"

Isis sighed, ignoring the words of doubt, looking around the room. "_Messenger of Osiris, guide and guardian, grant to me your glory!_" She called into the room, hoping he would answer her back, but only her own voice echoed back to her.

"_Who is this spirit?_" Yamaht wondered, watching Isis call out to the wind.

"_Messenger of Osiris, hide no longer!_" Isis continued, not even fully aware that she was doing it, much less that her words were leaving her in song. "_Secret and strange spirit. He's with me even now._"

Yamaht reached for Isis's hands as a gesture of comfort, as well as to supply some comfort for herself. Isis was beginning to really scare her. She was shocked when she touched the other woman's hands, however. "_Your hands are cold._" She whispered, looking back up at her with worry. How long had she been down in this cold, dark passageway?

"_All around me._" Isis muttered, not even hearing her companion's concerns. Her face fell, and the feelings of unrest took over her once again. The longer she thought about him, the less benevolent he became.

"_Your face, Isis, it's white!_" Yamaht told her. She looked ill; she needed to get back into the sunlight. This darkness couldn't be doing any good for her. Had she really been coming down here every day for four years? That couldn't be doing any good for her health, especially if she spent long hours within this passage. That might also have something to do with these delusions she was talking about.

"_It frightens me._" Isis admitted. She wasn't sure where those words had come from, but she didn't take them back. She _was _scared, but of what, she did not know.

Yamaht smiled warmly, and hugged her, rubbing the girl's freezing arms with her hands. "_Don't be frightened._" she said calmly, before breaking the embrace and leading Isis to the stairs to leave. She needed rest before the celebration tonight. She couldn't be there the way that she was now. "Come on, let's go to your room and start where we left off this afternoon. Hopefully, Seto won't be bothering us this time."

Isis nodded, and began to walk on her own without Yamaht guiding her. Once they were out of the shrine, she began to feel a bit better. Her mind didn't feel as fogged as it had before, and her body felt warmer. "That sounds good." she replied, her tone betraying no emotion either way. She didn't know how to feel now. She felt better, but even so, a part of her still wanted to be back in front of the shrine, waiting for the Messenger to appear to her.

She didn't want him to sing to her through the walls and haunt her dreams, but even so, she still hoped that he would come to her later when Yamaht had left her, and fill her mind with beautiful song again.

* * *

><p>And with that, I move onto the next leg of my story. Hopefully, the next ten chapters won't be so far and few apart. With any luck I can finish this up within the year and move on to another story on my to-do list.<p>

Well, I showcased a little bit more of Isis's detachment from reality, and a glimpse into Nephthys's mind as well. I meant to get more in detail with her this chapter, but while writing, I was worried that her confrontation with the Messenger revealed too much. I tried to keep that scene as brief as possible, so to keep from exposing a very crucial point to the plotline, but I'm still nervous about it. It was a necessary scene in this chapter to keep things moving along, but I hope some things will still be left a mystery.

Mahad is set to return next chapter, and I'm a little antsy about it. I'm not sure how I plan to write his reunion with Isis, but I'll have some time to think about it. I'll be focusing on my drawings for a while, so it will give me ample time to consider the dialogue and Isis's feelings when she sees him again for the first time in four years.

Before I sign out on this chapter, I'd like to answer to a few reviews that I thought garnered a response, so check for your name below:

**Spearshake: **Thank you for being the first to review my story way back when I started it. I give credit to that!

**Aqua girl 007: **Thank you very much for the lengthy review. I appreciated the assessment on my character and plot development, as well as the little ditty on my OCs. And I'm also happy for the kinship on my opinion of Mana and Mahad's relationship being simply platonic. You read my bio page! Thank you, that means a lot to me. It lets me know that I didn't waste hours writing all of that stuff for nothing! Also, I know the fic you're talking about, and the authoress who writes it. I read her stories for Yu-gi-oh whenever she updates. She's got great skills with plot development, so her stories are always good to read.

**Thasiloron:** Thank you for reviewing every chapter, and giving such honest, intelligent assessments of each one as well. I'd be a real jerk if I didn't respond, so here goes! I loved what you said about Mahad pretending to be a bush; that would have been great, if not incredibly awkward! Hehe. Mana isn't a part of Mahad's 'pansiness', though. A small part of it is due to his lack of control over his magic, but mostly he's just the shy type. But I do love the psychological evaluation; it tells me that you pay attention to the details of the story, which I really appreciate in a reader. The ending of chapter three was just a last minute idea on my part, and I added it in for some comedic effect. Love the philosophy on OCs as well; I'll be sure to remember that in the future. Moving on to Nephthys and her Millennium Headdress, yeah, I know adding an Item breaks canon in a bad way, but the Item came with the idea for Nephthys from the get-go, so I don't really acknowledge it so much as a plot point than an accessory to my character's own personality. The Headdress cites Nephthys's wisdom and insight, and also, it means that I don't have to draw her forehead when I sketch her character design, which is a pet peeve of mine along with hands and feet! A fellow Hetalia fan, eh? In that case, sorry for the historical inaccuracy; I don't consider it nitpicky at all. Yu-gi-oh had a lot of cultural references to ancient Egypt throughout the series, yet they never really did much with its history. It's a little up in the air to me as to when Atem was even ruling Egypt. In the Japanese text, they give a 3000 year time period for how long Atem was trapped in the Puzzle, and in the English dub, it's 5000 years, so that just mind-crushes me. So, when writing Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics, when it comes to any historical factors, I just wing it. I'm much more thorough when writing for the Hetalia fandom. I've got a oneshot on here right now for Hetalia about Austria and Hungary's 'divorce' if you're interested in the historical side of things. I made sure to research as much as I could about the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to make the historical references as accurate as possible. I've also got another one about Germany and Italy that's just for laughs too if you like. Getting back to this fic, though, Isis's father isn't one for rules or obligations, and he trusts his daughter's intuition. Also, if Mahad did anything to hurt her, rest assured he would chop his head off and hang it over his mantle (well, the ancient Egyptian equivalent of a mantle, anyway :3) without hesitation! I appreciate the support, but don't worry, that was just one of my lows. I'm back on top again for now, so it's all good. I get what you mean about not outrightly saying that Isis forgot Mahad, but I just wanted to assure people that is an actual part of the story, and that I didn't just switch gears with no apparent reason for it, to avoid confusion. I've read stories where authors write things without rhyme or reason, and the end product deters from any consistency in a storyline, so I want to avoid doing that myself. And I'm glad you like Nephthys's sarcastic side, because it's quite a step above the usual cut of sarcasm. Very clean, crisp and intelligent, with a hint of earnest to really make it hurt if you're on the receiving end! Thanks again for the reviews, as well as for being a Pleashipper; we need more of those! Hope to hear from you in the future.

**XxB-ChanxX: **Gee, thank you SO much for those words of encouragement! It's good to know I have your support. Thanks for the uplifting review!

That's all for now. I'll be focusing on some other projects for a while, so I'm gonna have a legit reason for not updating this for a while. But if I do update quickly, it's likely because I reached a road block on those other projects. So if you like where I'm going with this, hope for a roadblock! :)

r&r at your leisure!


	11. Reunions

I would have had this done sooner, but I've been in an incredibly good place with my family these past few weeks, especially with my younger sister. And if you knew how impossible it is to get along with her, then you'd realize what a miracle it is for us to see eye to eye on anything! Things are looking really good in my life, and I'm gonna try to keep the ball rolling for as long as I can.

I don't want to say much right now, mostly because I'm really tired, and I want to go to sleep after I finish posting this. So I just want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing so far, and hope that you enjoy this chapter.

There will probably be a few grammatical errors towards the end of this chapter, seeing as I was writing this with a half conscious mind, and Isis and Mahad's reunion scene probably could have been better on my part, but again, too tired to mind at the moment. Hopefully, my next chapter will be better. I know I say that about EVERY chapter I do, but at least I can't be penalized for a lack of desire for self-improvement.

Please just read the chapter and tell me what you think, okay? Thank you.

* * *

><p>That night, the entire palace was ablaze with light, and immersed in the sounds of merriment. The festivities carried outward into the city, where peasants and merchants celebrated in the streets. Within the walls of the palace, soldiers and their families had gathered by invitation of the Pharaoh, along with the many nobles and dignitaries of the city. Even the servants joined in the revelry, whether made to serve in the banquet or not. The festivities took place all around the outside of the palace, in the many courtyards and corridors, the banquet hall, and especially the throne room, where the majority of guests had gathered. Among these guests, the Pharaoh and his sacred court. Atem sat in his throne through the celebrating, looking incredibly bored, and Shimon stood at his right. Akhenaden, Seto, Karim and Shada were all scattered about the room, all speaking with various people. At the moment, Karim was speaking with his son, Shada with some people he knew well, and Akhenaden and Seto were speaking among themselves, no doubt about the events of earlier that day.<p>

As for Nephthys, she had taken to leaning against the wall in an indiscreet corner of the room, taking in the activity around her. She analyzed everything taking place around her, searching for the smallest indication of something about to shift for the worse, or the better. Regardless, she wanted to know what would happen the minute it happened. She made sure to prioritize her train of thought. First she looked to her father and brother, then Atem, then back to her father and brother, then Shada, back to her family, Atem, Seto, her family, Akhenaden, her family, and then repeat the cycle. Occasionally, she also made sure to break the cycle, in order to search for any others to include in the cycle.

Yamaht. Nephthys had a general idea of where she was. When she had first come down to the celebration, she had quickly given her information to tell her family if they asked about her. She had yet to see Yamaht's family, so the excuse as to where the woman was had left the High Priestess's mind.

Mana; Mahad's younger sister. She had been hiding behind the Pharaoh's throne originally, until Shimon had spotted her and sent her away. Nephthys giggled. Atem had been so bored ever since the girl had left. She was tempted to walk over and start talking to him herself, but didn't want to become distracted and allow indications to go undetected. Mana would be safe, wherever she had gone off to now. If the very least, she was in no more danger than she normally was in.

Mahad; she had yet to see him at all. If she had, then she had not recognized him. Given how distinctive his magical aura was from other magic users, she doubted the latter, but anything was possible. She worried about what would happen when He discovered that Mahad was still alive, possessing an Item, and still had a claim to Isis.

Pharaoh; if he was close by, then that could only mean trouble. Pharaoh's presence would mean that the Item Holders were all in danger, and that she would have to somehow convince Atem of this in the least compromising way possible. Of all those previously stated, Pharaoh was the one that she hoped _not _to see.

Finally, there was Isis, whom was the most important for her to locate. Isis had come in with Yamaht, looking terribly apprehensive. Nephthys had been seeing her on and off through the night. Each time she lost sight of her, she became worried, only to have her return to her sight just as she was about to act on her fears. So far, she had not been interacting with the other guests much. But she was drinking. Notably, quite a bit more than was normal for her. Trying to calm her nerves, then. Not a bad idea, but not a good one, either. A drunk mind made her more susceptible to being targeted. Isis could typically hold her alcohol very well, but Nephthys did not want to take any chances tonight.

Going back to her cycle, she noticed that her Father and brother had broken apart, her Father being dragged into a conversation with another group of people. She didn't have to look far to see where Satoshet had went, and as it happened, he was walking towards her. She smiled as he came up to her, and he returned the gesture.

"Where is Pharaoh?" the 14-year-old boy asked, leaning next to her against the same wall. She smiled, and extended an arm over his shoulders, reaching up to stroke through his hair. She smiled. He would be as tall as their father eventually. She planned to enjoy the modest inch she still had on him while she could.

"Sleeping, I would think." she said nonchalantly. "Anything worth sharing?"

"Isis stepped out a while ago. She was with Mana at the time." he replied.

"How did she look?" she asked before he could say anything else.

"Normal; a bit flushed, perhaps, but she had her senses about her. Can I expect an answer as to why I am following Isis's movements for you?"

"If I thought it was important, then I would have told you." Nephthys stated before firmly pinching her brother's cheek, a signal for him not to pursue any further argument with her.

"Mmn." Satoshet groaned until she let go, prompting him to dejectedly rub the now red area. Nephthys's smile returned to her face, and she continued.

"So you have not seen Pharaoh, then." she mused, "And you have been keeping track of Isis. Have you seen anything of Master Mahad, perhaps?"

Satoshet scoffed, "As if I would even recognize him. You do realize that I only ever saw him once." His sister's smile thinned, and she returned her hand to his cheek, a bit harder this time.

"Ow!" He exclaimed this time, unable to hold back his discomfort. Nephthys brought back her smile again.

"He is an Item Holder, dear. I trust that you would be able to recognize one of the Sacred Items, of all things."

Satoshet sighed. "Well, be that as it may, I still have not seen he or his Item all night."

"Nor his aura?" Nephthys asked. She had inherited the vast majority of her family's magical aptitude, yet she knew that Satoshet still had a small spark within him as well; just enough that he was able to identify the Ba of living creatures.

Satoshet shook his head. "Nothing. Why are you looking for him?"

She shrugged, feigning boredom. "Just promised Isis that I would keep an eye out for him."

Satoshet raised a brow. He knew there was a _**lot**_ more to it than what she was letting on. However, it was also his experience with his sister that she did not play mind games unless she felt that they accomplished something consequential. If she was hiding information, and distorting what little she gave, then she believed there was good reason to do so.

His thoughts were drawn away from the idea of his sister hiding something, when he noticed her eyes widen slightly, and her smile grow in both size and light. He directed his gaze to where she was staring, and cringed at what he saw. A man, smiling back at her and turning to walk towards them. He was a palace guard that was a close... acquaintance of hers. He didn't even want to call the man her friend; even _that _seemed too personal of a relationship for the two to have. Satoshet personally hated the man, especially when he was around Nephthys, and the hate was so deep that he couldn't even be bothered to remember the sorry excuse for life's name. Father would have a fit if he found out a man was looking at Nephthys, much less talking to her.

"You don't intend to speak to him, do you?" he demanded.

Nephthys smiled mischievously. "Of course. He is my friend, after all."

Satoshet scowled, and turned back to the male in question. Choosing to leave Nephthys's side, he walked towards the man, and blocked his path towards his sister. The guard rolled his eyes.

"Out of my path, boy. I have no desire for your discrepancies against me." he stated, moving to the left to get around the younger boy. But Satoshet moved to block him yet again.

"It is just as well. My sister has no desire for scum like you." he retorted.

"Nor I for her. However, I do have a right to speak to her." the guard further argued, moving to the right. Satoshet once more followed.

"You will not speak with my sister, especially not while I am present." he stated.

The guard made to move again, but paused trying to get around the noble boy as he looked over his shoulder.

"So it would seem." he stated, indicating behind the younger boy. "She's gone."

Satoshet started, and looked behind him. To his surprise, his sister had, indeed, disappeared from her spot. Though he questioned where she might have gone off to, he wasn't upset. Quite the opposite, really. It meant that this guard (Ahmed...? Amet? He felt his name was something like that.) wouldn't be around her.

The guard shook his head. "I hate it when she disappears." he mumbled, "It shouldn't be so easy for a woman of her status, yet she pulls it off. Well... it's been a dreadful experience, boy, but I think I shall leave to find where she went off to now."

Satoshet whipped back to face him, a glare once more present on his face. "I refuse to let you even attempt such an act!"

The guard scoffed. "You can't really stop me from trying, can you."

"Causing trouble again, are you boy?" a cold voice said from behind him.

The guard paled and turned around, looking up to see Master Karim looming over him. His face wore a scowl to match his son's perfectly, only on him, it was effectively threatening.

"Master Karim." the guard addressed with a bow, surprisingly much more calmly than he looked.

"Satoshet."

"Yes, Father?"

"Stop harassing the guards and go enjoy the festivities."

"B-but...!" Satoshet stuttered, causing the guard to smirk. It looked like the self-righteous little bastard would get told off for once instead of him...

"I'd like a word with Amut myself." Amut's face instantly dropped, while Satoshet's broke into a smirk as he turned and walked away from the two older men.

"I think we should start the way these little talks of ours normally start, boy." Karim practically snarled, "So let us discuss your relationship to my daughter..."

From outside the entrance to the throne room, Nephthys watched the ongoing scene between her Father, brother, and her friend Amut, smiling a bit. That went exactly as planned. She had went over to her Father after Satoshet went for Amut's throat, to let him know that they were getting into one of their fights again. While her Father had went over to break up the fight, she headed for the exit, stopping only briefly to see the current scene. She would have to make it up to Amut later, but she knew it wasn't anymore than he usually deserved from her Father and brother either, the way he was always picking fights with one and disregarding orders from the other. At least he was being put back in his place.

The reason she had wanted to get away so badly, however, was because she had spotted someone pass by the throne room, with a quite distinctive aura about them. She was almost certain it was Mahad, and she hoped that if he was, he would be easy to physically spot. The hallways were littered with people, mostly servants, and a few nobility. But she could still sense what she believed was Mahad's aura. She just needed to follow it.

She walked down a few hallways, mapping out the palace in her mind, and some of the treasures that he had put in certain places. Hallways did not have much to offer, but certain rooms had certain secrets of his design. She made a right. Three doors to her left, that room had a secret entrance into his tunnels. Another right; there were three more rooms with hidden doorways, one with a trap switch, but nothing dangerous. A left, and she was in a courtyard. The one at the northernmost side of the palace, with the largest number of water pools. A large crowd of people was gathered out here. She thought that she sensed the Millennium Ring now, along with Mahad's own aura. It must be him. She sighed, exhaling some tension that had built up in her. Her biggest anxiety had been not finding him tonight. Now, her biggest anxiety was merely walking through this throng of people and picking him out among the masses. Irksome, but at least she could handle it.

Looking over several faces in search of one took as long as would be expected were the fate of dumb luck not on your side, but eventually, the man was found, the Ring laying over his chest confirming this to her. He did not seem to notice or recognize her, and he seemed to be searching for someone just as she had him. She needn't guess who. He had changed greatly since the last, brief time she had seen him. Many of his physical characteristics had remained the same, though he had certainly become taller, and developed more muscles. He now wore the robes of a Guardian, rather than his previous garb suited for an apprentice to a Guardian. Gold, and the cleanest white linen. Appearance, however, meant very little. For the most notable change in him was certainly his spirit. The once shy, polite boy that Isis had swooned for had become a young man who exuded confidence and strength that no one ever could have expected of him. Overall, an incredibly handsome man. War changes people, her Father had once said. Well, there was only one way that she could know for certain. So she decided to waste no time analyzing, and simply dive in. She walked over to him, just as he turned so that his back was facing her. She smiled, the grin bordering on a smirk. When she got behind him, she noticed he was taller than her, perhaps about as tall as Seto, if she had to guess. His shoulders were both covered by gold plates, so she decided to tap his exposed right arm instead. As he turned to his right, she moved to his left, waiting for him to turn back. He looked around for a few seconds, before slowly turning back to her. He did a double take when he noticed her, and after a brief pause, his face lit up in recognition, and a small smile graced his features.

"Nephthys?" He asked, sounding incredibly surprised. She smiled back at him.

"Ah, so you remember me, then?" she asked with a small giggle.

He breathed out a laugh as well, bowing to the young lady as a greeting. Nephthys shook her head. "It is wonderful to see you again."

"Is that really any way to greet a friend, Mahad?" she asked as he rose back to his full height. His brows furrowed in confusion, and she shook her head again. "Come here." she sang, pulling him into a quick hug. He seemed shocked by the gesture for a moment, but quickly laughed at the woman's forwardness and returned the hug. It looked like Nephthys had not changed much. She let go after a second, and looked up at his eyes. He was genuinely happy to see her, it was clear to see. Looking past his feelings, however, she saw deeper emotions, and the same darkness found in all of the Item Wielders. Though the scars in his soul were deeper that those of the others, she noted. The Ring had been a nightmare for him to take charge of, and it showed. She saw small glimpses of what he had endured, the terrors and pain. The Ring had even managed to hurt him physically on several occasions. Yet even more remarkable still... his magic... his _heka_... it was...it was not the same as when he had left. She noticed that he still held back the vast majority of it, a feat that took remarkable strength in and of itself, yet now she noticed...he wasn't only holding back now... a portion of his magic... a _large_ portion of his magic...he had succeeded in sealing away completely. That had been almost as difficult as taking control of the Ring had been. Her heart went out to him; there was no denying that he had suffered through much, in and out of battle. She was curious, but knew better than to ask. He needed to forget right now more than anything.

"I have been looking everywhere for you." she stated, crossing her arms. "For a while, I was worried you were not coming back at all."

He chuckled at that, looking slightly nervous. "I cannot tell you how many times I felt the same way." he replied.

"If it's all the same, that is a discussion I'd rather not invite." she said simply, encouraging him to forget about his experiences for now. He seemed eager to oblige.

"Yes, of course." he agreed. "...Why not tell me how things have progressed here without me. I've heard much, but to witness the changes for myself is a completely different experience." He looked Nephthys over quickly. If nothing else, she was certainly a testament to the four years that had passed in his absence. Nephthys had always appeared older than she actually was, and even now at sixteen, she looked to be in her twenties. She had filled out nicely, too, possessing the body of a fully mature woman. In spite of this, the place his eyes were locked on was her hair. Still that strange mixture of dark brown and black stripes. Was it really... natural? He had to wonder. He wouldn't call her an attractive woman, because she really wasn't. She seemed to think the same way herself, at least that was his guess judging by the way she chose to dress. She still wore very little makeup and gold, even now with her rank of a High Priestess. The white dress she did wear was also very plain, showing very little skin, fitting loosely over her body, held at her waist by a belt made of lapis. No other jewelry to be seen. She wasn't beautiful, but... elegant was a very fitting word. She carried herself as one who took great pride in her mind, rather than the body that housed it. Further testament to this was that she wielded the Millennium Headdress, the Item capable of lending the user the wisdom of anyone they came into contact with.

"Isis has missed you." Nephthys began immediately, pleased to see that this statement brought a smile and a light blush to the magician's face. "As have your sister and our Pharaoh. We have all been eagerly awaiting your return."

Mahad gave a soft laugh in response. "I had wanted Isis to be the first person to see me upon my return, before anyone else." he explained.

"Am I impeding upon such a wish?" the priestess asked.

"Oh, no; not at all." Mahad assured her. "In hindsight, I actually should have known better than to think that I could get around your notice."

Nephthys chuckled. "You make me sound like some impish spirit." she stated.

"Just clever." Mahad corrected. "Perhaps it is for the best, even. I take it that you know where Isis might be hiding."

"That I do." Nephthys replied, about to tell him, before a better idea came to her mind, and she smirked.

There was a long pause following her statement, prompting Mahad's smile to wane as the seconds passed with no further commenting. He finally became too impatient to wait any longer.

"Well...?" he asked, hoping she would take the incentive.

"Hm? Oh, you meant for me to _tell _you!" she asked, feigning surprise.

"Well, yes. That _was_ my hope." Mahad answered, trying to be patient with Nephthys. From what he remembered of the girl, she had an affinity for playing mind games with people.

"Ah, if that's the case, then you would do best to look for her in the Throne Room. She has been there for most of the celebration."

"Are you certain? I checked by the throne room once before, and she was nowhere to be found." he queried.

"Well, she has needed to step out for some air from time to time, but she would be there if you can wait a moment or two."

"Is she well?" Mahad asked, suddenly a bit worried for her.

Nephthys smiled reassuringly. "She is in good health. But she is rightfully anxious about seeing you after so long."

"Yes, of course." he replied, suddenly seeming nervous himself. "It is... understandable."

Nephthys giggled. It seemed that same anxiousness had finally caught up to him as well. All that confidence he had displayed only moments ago had now been almost entirely washed away. She couldn't blame him. Isis had changed just as much as he had in the last four years. The poor man didn't yet know what a beauty he was returning to.

"Would you like me to escort you back to the throne room?" she asked. "You suddenly seem like you would enjoy some friendly support."

"Ah, n-no, thank you, Nephthys." he stated uneasily. "I would rather see her unaccompanied."

"Well...if you are certain that your legs won't give out on the way." she stated, looking down at his legs. As if on cue, his legs began to shake a bit once she said this. _Ugh, that girl..._ Mahad thought to himself. It seemed excessive to call her cruel, but the word still stuck in his mind. "Regardless, I should really be getting back to my Father. He worries, you know."

"Give him my best regards." Mahad said, bowing as a goodbye. Nephthys sighed, but relented a bow as well. Seemed she couldn't keep Mahad from being his polite, formal self.

They parted ways, and Nephthys quickly walked towards the other end of the palace, where she knew Isis really was. Not surprisingly, she and Mana were easier to spot than Mahad had been. There were fewer people at the southernmost end of the palace than the northern at this moment, and Isis and Mana were actually walking away from the room they had just been in, towards her. Mana smiled and ran up to her when she noticed the high priestess coming their way.

"Hi, Nephthys!" she greeted, taking one final bounce before stopping in front of her, "How's the party going?"

Nephthys smiled down at the younger girl. "I couldn't say myself." She replied as Isis joined them. "I stepped away from the greater part of the festivities a while ago. It was becoming a bit of a burden on my senses." She turned to look at Isis. The seer looked incredibly apprehensive at the moment, more-so than the last time she had seen her. If Nephthys had to guess, she was starting to become less worried about seeing Mahad again, and more worried that she would not see him at all.

"You do seem ill." Isis stated, her voice slightly rasped.

"Not as ill as you seem." Nephthys stated, moving closer to Isis and looking in her eyes. Instinctively, Isis took a step back, not comfortable with having her personal space invaded. Nephthys pulled back quickly, however, and looked at Isis seriously. She sighed and shook her head.

"You are giving yourself undue stress, Isis." she stated. "Perhaps you should step away from the party for a while."

The idea seemed to frighten Isis, as her eyes widened and she took another step back. "Oh no, no, I really can-"

Nephthys crossed her arms, and turned to Mana. "Mana, why don't you go to the throne room for me and tell Atem that Isis is retiring for the evening."

"Really, I am perfectly able to..." Isis continued to protest. Her argument was once again thwarted by the other priestess, however, who came up to her and leaned towards her ear.

"You really need to take a break to calm your nerves. It wouldn't do to have you in such a state when meeting Mahad." she whispered, prompting Isis to turn completely red. Nephthys smiled, and turned back to Mana.

"If you would, dear, please inform the Pharaoh of our departure."

Mana smiled. "No problem, Nephthys." she said. Secretly, Mana wondered what Nephthys was up to, but was more interested in putting whatever plan she was cooking up in motion. Nephthys was a _genius _at pranks, and Mana could tell she was plotting something _fun_ right now. Something that required her to be in the throne room, and for Isis not to be there.

"Feel better, Isis." she said before turning and skipping off to her destination.

"I _do _feel fine, Mana!" Isis called to her, but sighed and lowered her head, realizing she was not going to convince either girl of her health. Nephthys smiled and wrapped an arm around Isis's shoulders.

"You need to relax." she stated. "The best thing for that is some quiet."

Isis turned to the girl. "I broke away from the throne room with Mana for just that reason." she said.

"Yet you still look like death." Nephthys countered. "Why don't we go to your room for a while, just to catch our breath." she offered.

Isis 'mm'd in response. "Do I get a choice?" she asked.

Nephthys's eyes gleamed. "Yes, but I'm not letting you take it." she said, before her face softened. "You really are over-worrying yourself, you know." she said.

"I can manage myself."

"You are afraid of not seeing him; it is more than understandable. Do you really think Mahad would want you to worry over him so?" she asked. Isis looked down at her words, not responding.

Nephthys's smile was gentle. "You merely need a little more time to prepare yourself. There is no shame in that."

Isis nodded, not saying anything more as Nephthys led them to her room.

**~Q.N~**

Mahad entered the throne room around this time, and stood before the entrance, looking over every face in search of Isis. However, just as before, she was nowhere to be seen. Nephthys had said that if he could not find her in the throne room, he should wait for her to return. So, he walked further inside, looking around in search of his blue eyed beauty. He waited, glancing towards all of the entranceways, waiting for her to appear. He waited...

"MAHAD!"

The sudden exclamation caused him to jump two feet in the air. His eyes darted all around him, searching for the origin of the voice. But his efforts could not stop a small body from ramming into him and embracing him in a full-bodied hug with all her might. From around him, people briefly stopped their conversations to look at the spectacle, some laughing, others looking annoyed by the disturbance.

"M..._Mana_!" He gasped before attempting to pry himself away from the unmistakable hug of his little sister.

"You're back, you're back, you're back, you're back!" She kept repeating as she continued to hold him in a near death grip.

"_Get_..._off!" _he grunted, before finally getting the leverage he needed to push his sister off of him. Though unexpected, she still managed to land on her feet when she was forced off of him. He breathed in the air that had been squeezed out of his lungs, and placed a hand over his now smarting ribs. She had gotten stronger while he was gone, that much was certain. He raised his head to reprimand her, but any words he could think to say died when he saw his little sister in full view for the first time in years.

She looked so different now, a stark contrast to Nephthys's near-agelessness. This girl's spirit was unmistakably Mana's, yet he didn't remember her to look like this. Had he forgotten what his own sister had looked like, or had she grown more than just physically in his absence? A closer look confirmed that there were certain aspects of Mana's physical characteristics that he had forgotten about, such as the exact color of her eyes, and the fact that her hair had never laid perfectly flat like his. Everything else, however, was brand new. Perhaps the most striking thing was that Mana had been so small before, short even for her own age. Her height was now almost twice of what it had been when he last saw her. She had also put on some weight, but that was actually a good thing. She had been too thin when they first came to live at the palace, mostly due to his unimpressive cooking skills, so he was glad that she had some meat between her skin and bones now. Another thing he took notice of was her dress. He didn't pay much attention to it until he realized that it looked a bit familiar, yet he knew that he had never seen it before. It was the necklace Mana was wearing that put the pieces together for him. It was Isis's dress that Mana was wearing. The top of the dress with the off the shoulder sleeves, the belt, the necklace, and the bracelets had all been Isis's. The skirt of the dress, pleated and knee length now, had been smooth and ankle length before. Isis must have re-sewn the dress to Mana's measurements and given her the jewelry to go with it. It looked better this way, he thought, at least on Mana. He was speechless; his little sister, annoying, obnoxious, childish... she had grown to be a lovely young lady.

"I missed you." Mana said, causing him to look down into her eyes, brimming with tears. His gaze softened, and he smiled down at her.

"And I you." he agreed, stepping towards her and taking her into a more gentle hug. She returned it, and cuddled her face into his chest. He placed a hand on her hair, gently rubbing the top of her head.

"Mahad!" came a much deeper voice. He turned, in shock, to see yet another familiar face approaching them, with the rest of the Guardians (minus Isis and Nephthys, interestingly) in tow. As he walked past, all others in his path kneeled and bowed in respect. Mahad looked at the now Pharaoh with wide eyes, surprised to see his old friend look... well, if her were honest... exactly the same. Was he taller? He couldn't say for sure. His hair was mostly responsible for about a third of his height. But he now certainly wore the robes of a king, and in his eyes there was unmistakable maturity to behold.

"P-prince!" Mahad exclaimed without thinking, but quickly caught his mistake and corrected himself. "I-I-I mean, Pharaoh, of course!" he said, releasing Mana so that he could drop to his knee and bow to his king. "I am truly honored to come before you, as an eternal servant to your highness." he said. "Please, forgive my lack of respect."

"Mahad, please." Atem said, offering a smile. "There is no need for such a show of humility. My best friend has finally returned home, and I wish to greet him with the warmest welcome."

"You honor me, my Pharaoh." Mahad replied.

Atem chuckled. "Please, stand. You, above all else, are a guest of honor tonight." he stated. Mahad quickly got to his feet, yet his gaze still remained to his feet, until he looked to Mana, that is, noticing that she had been standing this whole time. That caused him some pause. Why had she now bowed to the Pharaoh when he approached? Surely, she had to know the rules of conduct when being addressed by the great Pharaoh. He knew the now Pharaoh and Mana were friends but... was there something... deeper to their relationship now?

Before he could think more into it, he was met on all sides by the rest of the court.

"Welcome back, Master Mahad." Priest Shada said.

"Thank you, Master Shada." Mahad replied.

"Mahad, good to have you back home. You've been missed by the girls." Karim said with a laugh.

Mahad returned the smile. "Master Karim." he said. The older Guardians of the Key and Scales were just as Mahad remembered them to be. During the war, he had only seen the two of them about four or five times. He regretted this fact. When he had fought alongside them, they had been fierce allies, and when they were off the field of battle, lighthearted companions. They made things seem brighter, even at the darkest of times. Master Karim would always talk about his family, and Master Shada was always able to see the positive in any situation. His teacher had not been such a comfort, in fact most times, Master Akil had made things _unbearable _for he and all the rest of the soldiers.

Master Akhenaden remained mostly quiet, seeming to be somewhere else at the moment. And the other young man with them, the one that held the Rod, he wore a similar look of disinterest. The Pharaoh introduced the young man as High Priest Seto.

"It is an honor to meet you, Master Seto." Mahad said with a bow to the higher ranking priest. Seto simply grunted, not even bothering to look in the magician's direction.

"I would like to say the same of you." he remarked. "We shall see."

Mahad stood straight and frowned. Mana sported a similar expression before sticking out her tongue at the arrogant High Priest, but Mahad placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He couldn't say that he particularly liked Seto's attitude, but he did understand it. The Rod wielder had never met Mahad before this moment, and therefore was unable to pass judgment on the magician's merit. Respect would have to be earned in order to be given, and Mahad would not reject such a condition. In fact, he himself could respect the cynicism; it showed his devotion to his position as well as the Pharaoh.

"Welcome back, Master Mahad, sir." came another greeting. Mahad glanced down at the boy standing next to Master Karim. Raven black hair, brown eyes, quite tall... he tried to conjure a name to the description. Nephthys's younger brother, he knew that much... the boy worshipped her and Master Karim... liked to help tend to the horses...

"Ah, Satoshet." Mahad finally said. The noble boy smiled at the acknowledgment. "How have you been?"

"In good health, sir, thank you." The boy said with a bow. It was interesting how different he was from his more impish, eccentric older sister.

"My son has been in training to inherit the scales for the past few years now." Karim said, placing a hand on Satoshet's shoulder, who raised his head slightly with the pride of this recognition. "A few more short years, and soon, he can take my place as a Guardian alongside his sister."

"It's funny you should mention Lady Nephthys." Mahad stated, "I crossed paths with her not long before I entered the throne room."

This seemed to interest the father and son, whose eyes both widened slightly at this information. "You saw her?" Karim asked.

Mahad's brows knit together, but he nodded his head and responded, "Yes, she was in the northern courtyard. I... believe she might have been looking for me." he admitted.

"Well, that explains where she disappeared to, at least." Karim replied, smiling what seemed to be a mixture of relief and pure affection for the female in question. "I hate it when she just vanishes like that." he laughed.

Mahad blinked, interested by that. "A habit of hers, I take it?" he asked.

Karim nodded. "She has her grandfather's magical prowess. Unfortunately, it was inherited along with my impulsiveness."

"Well, she mentioned when I left her that she intended to return to your side, but perhaps her impulsiveness prompted her to take a detour." he said. He looked around the small group for the umpteenth time since they had started their conversations. Nephthys's absence could be more-or-less accounted for, but where was Isis? She had been the whole reason that he came here in the first place.

"Where is Isis?" he finally asked. Everyone looked at him when he made this query. "I was under the impression that she would be here."

Mana quirked an eyebrow, and jumped in front of her brother. "Isis and I met Nephthys in the halls. She escorted her back to her room and asked me to come down here to alert the Pharaoh of where they would be."

When Mana finished explaining, it then clicked in Mahad's mind that he had been deceived into coming down here by a certain High Priestess, and that this same Priestess had also expected Mana to make a scene to draw attention to him so that he would be delayed from leaving the throne room for quite some time. He exhaled in frustration, not sure whether to storm out and hunt down the woman in question, or play out the rest of the game she had just created in order to see what, if anything, she was planning.

Karim was the first to pick up on the frustration in Mahad's face, and question him on it.

"Something wrong, Mahad?" he asked uncertainly.

"_That girl..._" he simply groaned out. From there, Karim needed no further explanation, having heard those words plenty enough times to understand their meaning.

**~Q.N~**

Mahad managed to break away from all the people who welcomed him back and gave him their best wishes as a new Guardian eventually, and all but ran out of the throne room, making a beeline for Isis's room and praying that she was still there. He came upon the corridor where the Priests' bed chambers were, and followed his memory to where Isis's door was. As he approached her door, it opened, and he stopped dead, holding his breath in anticipation... only for a completely different woman to emerge and close the door behind her.

Nephthys again.

He groaned, and marched towards her, not forgetting that she had misled him only moments ago. She noticed him coming up to her rather fast, and smiled as he approached.

"Ah, perfect timing. You're exactly on schedule." she replied, incredibly calmly. Mahad didn't take notice, however, and instead glared down at her.

"I just want you to know, if I wasn't completely sure that your father would murder me in my sleep if I tried to hurt you, I'd do just that." he seethed.

Nephthys's smile turned mischievous. "Is that the thanks I get?" she asked. "And here I went to all this trouble to guarantee you and Isis had some privacy. Well, father always told me that no good deed goes unpunished."

Immediately, Mahad's scowl dropped, and shifted to a completely dumbfounded expression. "Uh... what?" he asked, not sure that he had heard her right.

"Well... everyone in the court is now aware that you have returned, Mana got to welcome you back. I doubt anyone will be looking for you now. You have all the time in the world to be with Isis." her gaze lowered, her eyes darkening to a richer chocolate brown. "Or was I wrong in assuming that you would like a more... intimate reunion?"

Mahad's face turned deep red, and he looked away from the priestess, towards the door where the woman he had been dreaming about returning to for four years was currently behind. He gulped. He had been waiting all this time to see her, and now all that divided them was a single door.

Nephthys sensed his anxiousness, and smirked before turning to the side. "I think I will return to my Father and brother now." she said. "Have fun." she turned and walked away without another word following this, leaving Mahad to his thoughts. He had to wonder whether this was better or worse than what he had originally hoped to happen. What if Isis no longer wished to be with him? What if she had been married while he was away? No; that probably wasn't so. Otherwise Nephthys would not be going to such lengths to put he and Isis alone together. But she still could have forgotten about him, or grown tired of him. And she surely had changed as much as he did over the last four years. Would she still like him, even if not in a romantic way? Would he still like her? He couldn't stand to know... yet he could not go on without knowing. A door was all that separated them now, after four years of being separated by unspeakable distances, yet he felt closer to her then than he did now. He could easily break down the simple wooden barrier if he desired, yet he was afraid to even open it.

Yet he could wait no longer. Four years was enough time to be separated from her. And now, she was so close, all he had to do was walk a few measly steps, and he would be face to face with her. They were separated only by a single door, a simple plane of wood.

He took a deep breath.

He opened the door.

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

The room was dark, scarcely lit by a few small candles and the light of the moon coming in from the windows. In the dim light, however, he could still tell that the room was exactly as it had looked the last time he had entered it, all the furniture, statues, candles, furs and blankets in the exact place they were the night before he left. He looked to a chair seated next to the window at the far end of the room, and for a moment, he felt his heart stop.

There she was. _Isis_. She was unmistakable. Everything from her long, dark hair to her enchanting blue eyes was significant of the girl he remembered. But there was no doubt that she was older now. The curves of her body were much more defined than before, and the angles of her face just seemed more mature. She was dressed as a priestess, a Guardian. Around her neck, the Millennium Necklace gleamed in the dim moonlight. He was stunned by the vision in front of him. He had remembered her as being the most beautiful woman he had ever known, but he was a fool to think such. What laid before him now was nothing less than the most radiant _goddess _the world had ever been blessed with.

He was frozen in his place, unsure of what to say or do, or think or feel. Even breathing had suddenly become a labor for him to undergo. His legs wanted to give out from under him, yet they were paralyzed stiff and unmoving. His mouth hung agape, no words escaping him.

She continued to look out the window rather than face him, even when she spoke for the first time for his ears to behold. "...Nephthys, I thought you were going back to the throne room."

Mahad smiled. Her voice... her soft, beautiful voice. It was still the same as he remembered it; even so, to truly hear it was so much more wonderful than mere memory. Well... he had to say something now, even if he still had no idea of what could possibly be said after being parted for so long...

"Isis..." he started, her name exhaled in a breath of air that he had been holding in.

Before he could continue from there, she gasped and jumped out of her seat. She faced him fully with wide eyes. For a moment, she looked over the stranger that had just entered her room, trying to figure out who he was. "Who...?" she began, but her questions were paused as her eyes made contact with the golden Item hanging over his torso. The Millennium Ring. Her heart jumped into her throat. It... it was him! He was here, standing right in front of her. She... she didn't know what to do! What was she to say?! What would he think of her?! What would she think of him?! Had the room just gotten warmer? Why was her chest on fire?

"Isis, it is me. Mahad." he said, taking a step forward.

"M-Mahad?" she asked, taking in a deep breath to calm herself. As she did so, the burning sensation in her chest went away immediately. When had she stopped breathing?

"Yes." he nodded.

"I-I... I..." she stuttered, trying to find her voice. Once again, her lips had fallen silent.

Fortunately, Mahad was able to see how uncertain she was, and this gave him the strength to find his own voice, so she could have the chance to find hers.

"I... I wish that I had been more prepared than I am..." he said. "To return to such a beauty as you."

Isis's face warmed at this comment. Why did he say such things to her?

"Y-you... flatter me." she said as she looked away to hide her blushing face. "But you really should not speak in such a way."

Mahad's face flushed as well. "Of course. I... I know that it has been a very long time." he stated, "It will be difficult to return things back to what they were, at least for now." he took a few steps more towards her. "But if you still desire it, then nothing would make me happier than to court you once more."

Isis gasped. What... what on earth was he talking about? No, no; he had it all wrong. She... _they _had never been together. Of course, they had been close friends, but nothing more! Her heart had always belonged to the Messenger. He had always loved and cared for her. She had always yearned for him.

Yet, this feeling... this aching desire for the man in front of her, for Mahad, it was undeniable. Feelings were emerging deep from within her that she could not deny, though she wished to. The thought of being held in his arms, to _want_ to be held in his arms... it felt right. And when she looked into his eyes, she was overcome by a powerful torrent of emotions and memories... remembering things she hadn't known that she had forgotten. Much of it was a blur, but they all screamed one thing at her: that she had loved Mahad.

That she still loved Mahad.

That could not be! How could she have forgotten something as important as that?! How could it even be possible, when she knew that she was so in love with the Messenger?

"Oh, Mahad..." she whispered. "I-I... I don't...I..." she didn't know what to say, or what to feel.

Mahad's gaze turned to pity for the young woman. She was troubled by something. Was it because of him being here, or something else unrelated? Regardless, it was causing her incredible trauma, and he could not stand to see her so distraught. So, he closed the final distance between them, and wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back in comfort. She was quick to tense at the unexpected contact, but soon found herself being... soothed by his touch. It felt natural to be in his arms, to be close to him. She relaxed a bit, leaning her head against his chest. He was, taller now, she noted, the memories of the young man he once was coming back to her slowly. That was not all that changed. Four years ago, he never would have held her like this, even if they had been together as he claimed and she was beginning to recollect. He had become more confident, more sure of himself. She smiled upon realizing this. She was... happy for him, even though she still could barely remember his former self. She wrapped her arms around his waist, returning the embrace. Why did he have to be so warm? Why did she have to feel so safe in his arms?

"I... I have forgotten." she admitted quietly.

"What?" he asked, unsure if he had heard her correctly.

"I have forgotten. You. Us. What things were like before the war."

He smiled. "It has been a long time." he told her softly, resting his chin on her head. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"What I do not understand is why I forgot at all." she explained.

"There was much about you that I forgot until just now." he told her, trying to comfort her. "What matters now is the future. We shall have many chances now to relive those memories together, as well as to make new ones."

"All I can remember is His voice." she said, sounding as though she had not heard any of what Mahad was saying.

Mahad pulled away from her slightly, while still keeping his arms around her. "Whose voice?" he asked.

Isis looked up into his eyes. "The Messenger of Osiris." she stated. Mahad's brow furrowed. Isis smiled before continuing. "My Mother told me stories of him when I was small. Ever since her death, I have sensed his presence all around me. He protects me."

"I see." Mahad said, trying to not sound worried. Could this be the Millennium Necklace's doing? He could seldom believe the existence of such a specter was truly following Isis around. And he was more than familiar with the dark energies within the Items, his having nearly killed him on more than one occasion before he found a way to quiet the Ring's unspeakable rage. Perhaps this was connected to her memory loss as well. She was seeing visions of a being that was to be in the future, or that was in the past. If it was the Necklace's doing, perhaps he could help her somehow.

"Isis..." Mahad began. "Is it possible that the Millennium Necklace...?"

"I know what you are thinking, Mahad," Isis interrupted, "but He is not a product of my visions of the future. He has helped me to overcome the anxieties I had upon inheriting the Necklace from my mother. He has protected me from those that wished to harm me. And he sings to me in the night, wishing me into a peaceful slumber."

Mahad's shoulders slouched as he listened to Isis speak about this person. The way she spoke of him, the look in her eyes... whether this man was real or not, Isis undeniably adored him. Mahad wouldn't deny he felt a little jealous, and more than a bit hurt. Had he not been the one to comfort her when she spent restless nights worrying about inheriting the Necklace? And it was also him that rescued her when three apprentices had been harassing her. Why was it that she did not remember him, and instead her memories were filled with this faceless character that she spoke of with such fervor?

He had little time to contemplate this, however, for a moment later, a knock came from the door, and a guard entered, bowing.

"Lady Isis! I apologize for disturbing you, but the Pharaoh has ordered the presence of all the Guardians outside the Royal Wing. There has been another incident." the guard stated.

"Another...?" Mahad exclaimed in shock.

"Thank you." Isis said without hesitation. "Please, inform the Pharaoh that I shall arrive at once."

The guard bowed and exited the room with haste. When he left, Mahad turned back to Isis in confusion.

"Isis, what is...?"

Isis shook her head, and pushed Mahad towards her door. "The other guardians and I shall explain to you when we arrive. Hurry; we have to go."

Mahad chose not to ask further, realizing the seriousness of whatever had occurred. He nodded, and quickly walked towards the door. Isis trailed behind him, until a noise from behind her caught her attention and caused her to stop. Mahad exited her room, and she turned to look over her shoulder to see where the sound may have come from. It sounded like... like someone was _singing_.

As she realized this, the door slammed shut, separating her and Mahad. Her first instinct told her to panic, and she ran for the door, attempting to open it, but she could not open it! It felt as though something incredibly heavy was blocking the door, but when she moved her hands around, there was nothing but air. From the other side, she could hear Mahad trying to open the door as well, and having just as much luck as she was.

"Isis! Isis, open the door! What is going on?" he called to her. She opened her mouth to answer him, to cry for him to go get help. But then something met her ears once again, and any words to indicate that she was in danger died on her tongue. His voice filled the room, and she became deaf to everything else. Mahad's voice drew farther and farther away, and with it, her recollection of what had just transpired between the two, as well as what the guard had told her. All she could hear was the Messenger.

_"Insolent Guardian;  
>Slave to the throne;<br>Basking in your glory!"_

_"Ignorant fool;  
>This brave, young suitor;<br>Sharing in my triumph!"_

His voice was filled with rage and accusation. It caused her to tremble, but she still found voice to respond to him, to reassure him.

_"Spirit, I hear you.  
>Speak, I'll listen.<br>Stay by my side;  
>Guide me."<em>

_"Spirit, my soul was weak;  
>Forgive me;<br>Enter at last;  
>Master;"<em>

The Messenger seemed pleased by this response, for he answered her a voice of gratitude.

_"Gracious maiden, you shall know me;  
>See why in shadow I hide;<br>Within the walls of your bedroom;  
>I am there inside!"<em>

Heeding his words, she dashed towards the entrance to her bed chambers, and almost screamed at what she saw standing beside her bed.

A man. He was taller than her by a few inches, and his body, which appeared to be quite toned, was hidden beneath dark red robes. Most of his face was hidden by the darkness, so she could not make out much of his countenance. However, in the light coming from her window, she could see that his hair was long and spiky, and it was the color of cotton. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that the reason she saw so little of his face was because he wore a mask that covered most of his face from her sight. She cringed at the terrifying sight before her, yet she refused to look away. The creature before her was just as mesmerizing as he was frightening. Especially his beautiful voice, the voice that told her it was He, the Messenger of Osiris, standing before her now.

_"Messenger of Osiris;  
>Guide and Guardian;<br>Grant to me your glory!"_

_"Messenger of Osiris;  
>Hide no longer;<br>Come to me, strange spirit!"_

From somewhere, she heard another sound, one similar to the one she had heard before the door had slammed shut. This noise invoked some common sense to return to her, and she glanced in the direction of the sound. When she did, she saw a small silhouette sporting two yellow eyes, gazing at her from on top of her bed. It was a cat, she realized as it mewed once more. Although she had noticed it, either the Messenger had not, or he was simply ignoring the other creature. Isis wondered, was it... Nephthys's cat? If it was Pharaoh, then what was he doing in here, and how had he gotten in in the first place? Come to think of it, how did the Messenger get into her room without her notice? Did this spirit always come into her bed chambers so effortlessly without her knowledge? Was he always watching her? Just why was she allowing this... person to be in her room like this? But her grasp on reality was once again slipping, and before she was able to act on her sudden fear of the creature before her, the questions had disappeared from her mind, and all she could think about was running to the Messenger, and letting him take her hand, leading her through the walls of her room, into some unknown plane of existence.

**~Q.N~**

From outside Isis's chambers, Mahad continued to desperately ram the door. Nothing he did was working. His magic would not break the door, ramming it was proving ineffective, and if there was a way for Isis to open the door from inside her room, then she was unable to. He continued to call to her, begging her to answer him, yet he was receiving no response. For a long time, he wondered if she had in fact locked him out of her own will, and he still believed this to be possible.

Until he heard the voice. It was feint, incredibly low and soft, but he heard it. And the hidden darkness carried underneath it.

_"I am the Messenger of Osiris."_

His eyes widened in shock. "Whose voice is that?" he wondered, trying to hear it more clearly, but all the voice did was repeat the same thing over and over. "Who is that in there?!"

_"I am the Messenger of Osiris."_

"Isis! ISIS!" Mahad took a step back. Something was in there with Isis, and whatever it was, a great darkness surrounded it. It was one of the darkest spirits Mahad had ever felt. beneath him, the arrows of the Millennium Ring were moving erratically. He looked down in shock. He _needed_ to get in there and help Isis now... but he had tried everything and the door would not move. He clenched his fists. He hated to think of what could happen to Isis... but his strength was not enough. He had to get to the other Guardians and get them to help him. Right now, it was all that he could do to save Isis. Wasting no time, he bolted as fast as he could down the corridor, running to where he knew the others would be.

**~Q.N~**

Nephthys ran towards the Royal Wing as fast as she could. When she arrived outside the room where the other Guardians were standing around, she stopped and walked slowly toward them. Atem noticed her first, and turned to greet her with a nod. She bowed in return, before glancing at the open door of the room. The reason this room had been empty for so long was because it had belonged to Master Akil, the former Holder of the Millennium Ring. Mahad was meant to have this room now that he returned, but it seemed the Thief King had claimed it for himself. Nephthys wondered if that was a coincidence or not.

"What happened?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

Atem turned pale as he relayed the information to her. "We sent five guards into the room the Thief King mentioned in his note to me to investigate... all... all five of them were just found outside the room, dead."

Seto walked up behind Atem, and looked Nephthys in the eye. "Each of their bodies were ripped to pieces, and each one's faces have been slashed over the right eye."

Nephthys took all of this without displaying any emotion. "I see." she stated. A glance over Seto's shoulder gave her a look at the very bloody massacre first hand. She walked around Seto and the Pharaoh to get a closer look at the gore. Seto turned and watched her walk to where the bodies were, and scowled at her lack of emotion. That, to him, was much more unsettling than the carnage itself.

"Not unnerved by the carnage, I see." he stated.

Nephthys almost invited a smile at Seto's forwardness, but held it back for respect of the dead soldiers before her. "I am a woman, Seto. It would be too much of an inconvenience for me to be repulsed by the sight of blood." she retorted. Seto's mouth opened, but he could think of nothing to reply to this with.

"Has anyone been in the room yet?" she asked, still not taking her eyes off the bodies.

"I have had several guards examine the room. We have found blood, but no other insight. No notes, or anything else that may have been of use." Atem explained. What's more, there had been other guards stationed outside of this room when the bodies were thrown out, she there was no way that anyone could have gotten in or out.

"Hm." Nephthys mused. "Perhaps we are dealing with a phantom of some sort after all."

Suddenly, Mahad appeared running towards the group, shouting as loud as he could.

"MY PHARAOH! MASTER SETO!" he shouted as he approached. "Lady Nephthys!"

All the guardians present turned to Mahad as he came towards them. He stopped in front of them, panting for breath. Nephthys could see that he was visibly afraid, and his expression told her enough to know what he was about to say next.

"Mahad, what is it?" Atem asked.

"It's Isis!" Mahad exclaimed in a panic. "Isis is in danger! Someone has locked her in her room, and now she's alone with them!"

"What?!" Nephthys asked in bewilderment.

"I've tried to open her door, but not even my magic has been able to open it." Mahad explained.

"Don't worry." Atem said, motioning behind himself. "Seto. Karim. Nephthys. We will go to Isis's chambers and save her from whatever has her trapped. Quickly, let's go!"

"Yes, Pharaoh." Seto said, running after Atem and Mahad as they started towards Isis's room. Before they got far, however, Nephthys called back to them.

"Do not bother." she yelled, causing them to stop and look back at her. She looked at them straight on, her brown eyes bereft with sadness.

"I can sense it; the Thief King has taken her prisoner. She is no longer in the Palace."

* * *

><p>...At any rate, it's the LONGEST chapter that I've done for this fic, anyway.<p>

...Due to my current state of sleeplessness, I can't think of much more to say than that, so hopefully, a few of you will send me some intelligent reviews of this chapter. I've been getting quite a few of those lately, and I have to say, they make me incredibly happy. So please, give me more of those well-thought-out reviews that make me smile when I read them!

Sorry that I can't think of more to say for this. Please R&R. Thank you, and good night.


	12. The Music of the Night

I realize how long I've been gone from this, or uploading any fanfiction at all on here, so I'll try to make this brief. I've been going through a rough time with my school-related shiz-nit, but now that summer is on its way, I'm being granted a lot more free time to do more for myself; more writing, more drawing, more video games, etc., and I think this particular chapter is the last big hurdle I'll have to cross with this story for now (or maybe the next chapter, I'm not quite sure, but regardless), so hopefully I can get in a good amount of chapters in here from now until September. To all those who have been waiting for me to update this, I appreciate your patience and support more than I could ever put into words, especially considering I don't see this as a particularly great story myself (I've written much better for my private projects!), but my philosophy has always been that if I can bring happiness and entertainment to even one person who sees my work, then its worth all the time and effort it takes to make them as close to good as possible. So thanks to all of you that read either this, or any of my other stories. I appreciate you a lot!

Anyway, in regards to this next chapter, we'll have an official confrontation between Isis and the Messenger of Osiris as he reveals his true identity, which I'm sure everyone reading this has already figured out anyway. Believe me, I wasn't trying to trick anyone or put in some mind-blowing plot twist. The hints were about as subtle as a frying pan to the face from Hungary (Hetalia references). Also, sorry if this chapter is boring or not as eloquent as others I've written. Or maybe it is just as good; I just feel like it isn't my best work. Feel free to tell me if I'm right or wrong about that. Either way, it helps me to improve.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter for all its worth, so get to reading it already!

* * *

><p>Down they travelled, deeper and deeper into the caverns beneath the palace. She was led by the Messenger through twisting halls, descending stairs, and the blackest waters, through places so far from the reality she knew of. Yet she allowed the Messenger to captivate her and pull her further into this realm of dark fantasies and beautiful nightmares. With each passing step, the reasoning to free herself from his grasp and run away grew further and further from her thoughts, until the very thought of leaving his side frightened her to death. And when he sung to her in soothing tones, she felt completely at ease, and the monsters and the darkness that followed them dissipated into illusions of gleaming corridors, treasure rooms and bright beautiful light from every direction.<p>

They came upon their final destination after a long time of walking through the darkness. This place was grand, a room large enough to rival that of the palace's throne room. Yet it was clear they no longer existed within the palace. Isis, if she had the clarity to consider it, would doubt they even existed on the mortal plain anymore. The afterlife? Someplace else that humans had not a name for? She could not begin to imagine. Though from the way her Necklace hissed and burned around her neck, she regained enough sense to deduce she should not be here, whether her captor wished for her to or not.

For all of its grandeur, it was apparent that this place, regardless of where or when it was, was a place of death. The building was clearly crumbling, with broken pillars and crumbled holes in the ceiling giving way to what Isis could only guess was moonlight. Many areas of the walls had also caved in. Were it not for the Messenger's presence, one would believe this place was abandoned. In the back of the room there stood an alter of some sort, the only thing not destroyed or covered in debris. The Messenger lead them to this area with much eagerness, and upon reaching it, Isis was surprised by what she saw the alter to be. A resting place for the eight Millennium Items, with a place for each one to go within the sarcophagus-like carving. While her mind was twisted every which way and clouded by illusions and false memories and feelings, Isis was still a bright enough lady to be able to make deductions. Could this be the origins of the Millennium Items, this place that they were in now? Never had she been told of where the Items had come from, only of what they had done for Egypt with their astounding powers. Isis turned to her companion, about to ask why he had brought them here, but her words vanished from her mind when he walked in front of her towards the alter, gesturing to it with much reverence.

_"I have brought you;  
>To the seat of darkness's throne!<br>To this kingdom where all must pay homage to darkness;  
>Darkness!"<em>

_"You have come here;  
>For one purpose and one alone:<br>Since the moment I first heard you sing;  
>I have needed you with me to serve me to sing;<br>For the darkness.  
>Darkness."<em>

Isis remained silent as her mind once more went blank from his words. The Messenger smirked at her flustered face, loving that he had rendered her speechless.

"Fair woman." he continued, "From this day forth, you may know my face." He removed the mask that had been covering him, and stepped into the light so she may see him better. As he did, she gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. Such a handsome young man... yet his appearance was so unlike anything she had ever seen before. His long hair was as white as a sheet, and his lavender eyes gleamed with an otherworldly beauty. His smile exuded confidence, to the level of Priest Seto's own arrogance. Somehow, it didn't deter from his charm at all. In fact, it only made him more so.

"And you may know me by name." he continued, his grin widening as her face turned red. "Bakura."

Isis blinked. "Bakura." she repeated, though nothing else escaped her past this.

"Truly, a blessing that we are finally brought face to face, my dearest." He said, "I welcome you with a humble and joyous heart to my kingdom, the kingdom of the Messenger of Osiris." He gestured to the room they stood in. "Here, there is only darkness, and I have existed alone for many a year, with only the spirits of the deceased for company. But at last, I have found one with whom I wish to share the bounties of my kingdom with. You, dearest Isis."

"...Me... Why...?" Isis mumbled, still not able to process coherent thoughts, much less voice them.

"Why? Why you?" he asked, and a soft chuckle escaped his lips that caused her legs to tremble. "I cannot say in certainty what it is about you, but I greatly adore it. Your beauty. Your kindness. Your lovely singing." Her face darkened. "All of these things and so much more, they make me want you. To exist with me in my kingdom of darkness."

"I... this... is this a choice?" she asked, the only question that resonated clearly in her mind.

"A choice?" he asked, the smile fading from his lips. "You mean that you would wish to be elsewhere? Away from me?"

"...I." Isis whispered, her mind grasping for a response to give. "...Have friends, and... and family. The palace... I was born there. It was where my mother died. Where my parents raised me. How could I leave...?"

"Mm." Bakura mused, his head nodding in acknowledgement of her words. "Yes... your loved ones. You have such short, precious time with them... and then they must die and cross over to the afterlife. Like your parents." He paused, noticing the young woman bow her head as he brought up her deceased family. "Life is unfairly limited, my lady, and I have spoken with the gods. The people you hold closest to you, they have not long left."

"What?!" Isis gasped, "How do you... why?!"

He sighed. "They are destined to be struck down, destroyed by the very darkness they brought upon themselves, when they forged the Millennium Items."

"The Items?" Isis questioned, "That cannot be so; the Items are used to protect Egypt and its people."

"If that is true, then how do you explain the shadows that follow you in the daylight, and the nightmares that haunt you at night?" he asked, though no response was given back. "The Millennium Items were forged of the darkness itself. This darkness taints the soul of whomever wields them, consuming them until they go mad."

Isis touched her Necklace, feeling her Item scorch her fingertips, yet she refused to pull away. She had never been able to explain away the terrible shadows that followed her and the other guardians, nor had anyone else. Master Akhenaden had always told them that the Items were sacred gifts from the gods, meant for only those chosen by the Pharaoh. It was only these eight individuals who possessed the strength of mind and spirit to dispel the darkness and fight back the shadows. Anyone else would be condemned to madness, and eventually death. Yet here this near-god was standing before her, and telling her of the 'true' power of the Millennium Items. Was she to question the voice of a spirit who walked on a higher plain of existence? What could mere mortals truly understand of such treasures of the gods? Had someone not once told her of how magic was a gift to be used, but not to be fully understood?

"In my mercy, I have appealed to the gods, and they have consented to me the power to spare one of my choosing. It is you that I spare from the damned fate of the other Item Wielders. You, who prays to me and looks to me for guidance where so many others have forgotten. But, I may spare you only on one condition." It was here that he paused, and allowed her a chance to take in his words, and give a response if needed. Yet her voice remained still, so he proceeded.

"My lady, I will spare you if you accept to stay here with me, and reign over the darkness alongside me. You will surrender your Millennium Necklace to the Darkness in place of its original forgers, and help me to beckon the Darkness into the world anew. What say you, dear Isis?" he extended his hand to her, "Will you join me?"

"..." her lips remained silent still, yet her mind had managed to reclaim its voice through his words of this Darkness, and was screaming at her with every thought that had been suppressed during her stupor. Even so, she still barely understood what he spoke of. Why would she help him to bring _darkness _into the world? That was what the Items existed to _prevent_! If the Items were truly evil, and destined to bring suffering upon their owners, then destroying them would be the most logical action, rather than sacrificing them to summon an even greater evil.

"Why do you say such horrible things?" She asked with some accusation, "Why do you wish to bring such tremendous evil into the world?"

He chuckled darkly, "I never said anything about evil." he corrected.

She frowned. "It is all that you have been speaking of since you brought me to this place." she said as though it were obvious, which to her it was.

"I speak of darkness," he elaborated, "The darkness is not evil, nor is the Realm of Shadows from which it resonates. It has its own agenda, to be certain, one that unfortunately must conflict with the light, but in no way does that make it malevolent."

Isis's irritation quickly turned to confusion. "I do not understand."

"Without the darkness, how could light exist? By the same extension, is it not light that casts these shadows you believe need be feared? Why should something that your light creates be feared?" Bakura reasoned.

Isis considered this argument, but was not yet fully convinced. "Darkness _is _a product of evil, however." she insisted, "From the darkness is born chaos and confusion. The darkness blinds us, and the shadows conceal the creatures of night that wish to hunt us. The light is our salvation, which reveals the path to truth and reason, and the dark wishes to consume the light to prevent salvation."

Again, he laughed, not believing her narrow-mindedness. The original Item Wielders had certainly done a fine job of brainwashing the current Guardians, if Isis was any testament to how the others thought.

"Is that all you think the darkness is capable of?" he asked.

"What else could it ever do?" she replied.

He smirked. "You would think a lady as bright as yourself would realize." he mused, before answering her in the way he knew would win her over without any doubt. He sang.

_"Nighttime sharpens;  
>Heightens each sensation.<br>Darkness stirs:  
>And wakes imagination.<br>Silently the senses;  
>Abandon their defenses."<em>

He walked closer to her and extended his hand. She hesitated, but the moment was short lived and she resigned to accept her guardian's hand. He smiled with an air of almost triumph, and led her towards the alter.

_"Slowly, gently;  
>Night unfurls its splendor.<br>Grasp it, sense it;  
>Tremulous and tender."<em>

They passed by an area where one of the holes in the ceiling allowed a beam of light to cross through. In a moment of curiosity, Isis turned her head towards the origin of the light, just to see if she could determine where this place was. Bakura caught her, however, and with the slightest grimace turned her head back to look at him, though his voice remained gentle for her.

_"Turn your face away;  
>From the garish light of day.<br>Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light;  
>And listen to the music of the night!"<em>

While she had originally thought that he was leading her towards the alter, they actually were passing around it. He was leading her to another doorway behind it. The new room they entered appeared as another shrine, only this one seemed newer than the room they were previously in. It was filled with all sorts of gleaming treasures, many of which Isis could see were objects commonly found in funerary rituals and in the tombs of deceased nobility. Offerings to the Messenger from the dead, perhaps? She looked to her left, and saw something peculiar: a doll laying atop a pedestal, with what looked like a lock of some kind of hair next to it, several lotus blossoms, as well as a gold bracelet that reminded her of one she had misplaced some months ago. The sight unnerved her a bit, yet she was not sure of why. Trying to dismiss the unpleasant thoughts, she returned her attention back to the Messenger, and his song of the splendors of the darkness.

_"Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams;  
>Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!<br>Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar;  
>And you'll live as you've never lived before."<em>

From ahead of her, he beckoned and she followed without having to be told. Once more, she found herself in the trance brought on by his voice, and could not deny him anything he asked. Through his passion, she was beginning to understand what he wished for her to know; the beauty that existed within the shadows. The joys that darkness brought. They were just as grand as the light, in their own right.

_"Softly, deftly;  
>Darkness shall caress you.<br>Hear it, feel it;  
>Secretly possess you."<em>

Perhaps the shadows were even more lovely than the light. In all of his glory, perhaps this was why Ra would submit to the night every day, because even the great sun god himself was left in awe of the majesty brought about by the falling of Nut's beautiful indigo sky over the land, and the transformation it brought about, that no force in the world was resistant to.

_"Open up your mind;  
>Let your fantasies unwind;<br>In this darkness that you know you cannot fight.  
>The darkness of the music of the night!"<em>

Even so... light and day still had their place and their own charms. Why shun something that brought life to the earth and warmth to its children? To glorify the dark and expel the light would only inverse the norm, not improve upon what the Messenger dubbed as a problem.

_"Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world;  
>Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before!<br>Let your soul take you where you long to be!  
>Only then can you belong to me."<em>

He was closer to her now, she only then realized. In honesty, he was much closer than she was comfortable with anyone being to her. Only the smallest sliver of spaces kept their bodies from touching, and it disturbed her as much as it aroused her. His proximity to her was alcoholic; the smallest taste, and already she writhed and hungered for more, and the more she got, the harder it was to push away. He fully intended to inebriate her, and caressed his hands over her waist and hips. On instinct, she brought her hands to his face, her desires becoming unbearable. She came close to kissing him, yet another hiss of the Necklace drew her back the slightest bit. Though the moment passed, he didn't seem disappointed. Rather, he looked amused. She couldn't help but have his emotions rub off on her, and she too produced a giddy smile of her own.

_"Floating, falling;  
>Sweet intoxication.<br>Touch me, trust me;  
>Savor each sensation."<em>

They were moving again, to the other side of the room, and she breathed heavily in the anticipation of what new wonders he was to show her next. A corner he was leading her towards held sheer curtains, hiding behind it a figure that to Isis seemed rather human in appearance. This caused her intoxicated mind to pause and consider in anxious terror what could possibly exist behind the veil, and whether the thing that was could be dead or alive, and which of these choices was worse.

_"Let the dream begin;  
>Let your darker side give in;<br>To the power of the music that I write.  
>The power of the music of the night!"<em>

Pushing her gently into the final distance between them and the curtain, Isis held her breath as he reached over her shoulder and drew back the veil and the human figure was revealed. Isis barely had a glance at the shocking reality of what was behind the red drapes. It had been her; a bronze statue carved in her image, with every detail from face to body structure sculpted to perfection. The statue was dressed in the robes of a royal wife, _his _wife. She fainted, the anticipation and the final reality combined being too great for her to bear. Bakura caught her before she hit the ground, and picked her up in his arms, still grinning as though celebrating a sweet victory. He was unfazed by how severely she reacted. She would say yes to him; how could she not? After all he had done for her, after all he would give to her, she would never deny him this one tiny favor in return. She loved him, after all.

He carried her all the way to his private chambers and laid her down on the bed, which was nothing more than a large pile of hay covered by several sheets and old, musty pillows made from food sacks and bird feathers. He gazed down at her, admiring her beauty. He hadn't intended to spare any of the Guardians. He owed a debt to Nephthys, so he had no choice but to spare she and her family from his plans of vengeance against the Pharaoh, but when he saw Isis for the first time, he knew that he would be unable to kill her as well. She was so beautiful, and so kind, with a voice as soft as birdsong. He had discarded his humanity long ago, he knew, but what sort of monstrosity could possibly end such a precious life? Certainly not him. When she sang, it reminded him of the way his mother sang to him as a boy long ago. She was a kind and beautiful woman as well, before she was killed by the Pharaoh's soldiers along with the rest of their village. One wonderful woman had already been killed in cold blood, but he wasn't like the evil tyrant that had destroyed his village! He would never harm a woman that didn't deserve to die. Let all the other Guardians burn along with their 'benevolent' ruler, but he would spare her from them and their oppression, especially that magician. If he could have it his way, the magician would be the first to die. Well... perhaps only the second he corrected, reminding himself in disgust of the one-eyed priest. He was to be the first to die for his sins. His would be the first sacrifice made in his vengeance.

Smiling in anticipation of the moment that he could finally choke the last breath from the old Guardian and the magician alike, he gave a final glance to Isis. Her pretty, peaceful face caused his thoughts some pause. Through his secret passages littered throughout the palace, he had frequently spied in on some of the Guardians' so-called 'Millennium Trials'. Isis was always willing to show mercy to the criminals brought before the court, even the ones that deserved their imprisonment. She believed in redemption, because her father had been a thief before he had become a Guardian. The father that she always spoke so fondly of was a man who had turned his life around to be a good husband and father for his family. One who had struggled to put a harsh and unforgiving past behind him. Would she approve of the choice he was making?

He shook these thoughts of doubt from his mind. Of course she would! If she had forgiven murderers, arsonists, and rapists in the past for their transgressions, then she would certainly forgive him for what he was planning to do. What's more, she would join him in righting the wrong done to him by her own. Because she loved him, and she would do as he told her.

_"You alone can make my song take flight.  
>Help me make the music of the night!"<em>

**~Q.N~**

Mana snuck into Isis's room later that night, evading the guards through use of the freezing spell she had recently learned. Ever since Isis had disappeared from the palace, a search party had been sent out to look for her in the city and surrounding outskirts. Atem was convinced that whoever had abducted their priestess could not have gotten too far without the notice of someone, and had to be hiding with her nearby. The palace grounds were still being investigated as well, and there were twice the number of guards patrolling the corridors as usual, and especially in the throne room, where the other guardians had assembled to discuss how to deal with the Thief King and Isis's kidnapping. No ransom note had appeared, yet everyone was convinced that she was still alive.

Mahad had sent Mana to her room and ordered her not to leave under any condition. She had decided to listen to him at first, understanding that the Palace could not be considered safe right now. But she couldn't sleep, not while knowing that the woman that had been like family to her the last four years was missing and in danger. If Atem and the other guardians had come up with nothing yet, then there probably was nothing that she could do to help rescue Isis either, but she had to try. Crying and wishing for her to return wouldn't help, so what could she do?

She snuck out, and went to Isis's room. Fortunately, there were no guards inside, so while the two outside were left frozen in place, she was free to search for clues. The guards had already been asked to search through here, but maybe they missed something? Maybe? She looked over and under everything, every piece of furniture, every blanket and pillow, every candle, in every chest, and she came across nothing. Nothing that might have been a ransom note, no out-of-place objects, no blood (thankfully!), not even a suspicious footprint or something.

_Well, what was I really expecting?_ Mana thought to herself, _It's not like the guards would have missed something so important, anyway._

There was one last place to check; Isis's bedchambers. She walked over to her bed and looked around it, still finding nothing of value. There was a little spot with some cat hair on it, but considering all the wild cats that wandered through the palace freely, that wasn't exactly odd or out-of-place. Mana sighed, and continued to look around, but saw nothing. Deciding that this had been a waste of her effort, she turned to leave and return to her own bedroom before Mahad would realize that she had left. While she turned around, she got blinded by a beam of light coming in through the window...

But, wait a minute! Her back was to the window. She turned again to confirm this, and saw it to be true... and there were no candles lit, so what had just got in her eyes? She stepped to the side, out of the way of the light's path, and looked down. No light reached the ground, or else it blended too well with what light came in from the windows. She swished her hand back and forth in the spot she had just been. Something appeared, a shallow, vertical line appeared on the palm of her hand. There was no way the light from outside could cause that. And the light was... how could it be described? Warmer, maybe? Like, more like a torch light than moon light. It even flickered over the surface of her skin. she moved her hand around a bit more and started slowly walking forward, trying to find the location of the light source. She finally reached the wall opposite the windows, and felt around. The wall was perfectly solid, unless there was maybe a crack somewh...

Just as Mana considered this, her fingers slid over empty space, and further investigation revealed a perfect seam in the wall, too small for even her fingers to fit through. She peeked into the small crevice, and saw the origin of the light; a single torch, lighting the way to... somewhere. But how was she gonna get to the other side and see what was over there? Going for the most obvious answer, she pressed all of her weight onto the wall and started pushing. But the stone didn't so much as budge under the pressure. Mana frowned, but quickly lit up again when she thought of an alternative. _It may be too heavy for me to move..._ she considered, pulling out her wand from nothingness, _but I bet it's not too heavy for my magic!_ She began to chant a spell to move the stone door, and it began to shudder and started moving. But rather than gently swing open to her command, a small explosion was sounded and seconds later the stone crumbled away, reduced to nothing but a pile of rock and a small cloud of dust. Mana squeaked and recoiled as it gave way, and turned back once the damage was done, looking over it with some anxiety.

"Uh... that didn't go according to plan." she thought out loud, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone that might have overheard the ruckus was coming in. Yet Isis's door remained shut, and hopefully it would stay that way. Speaking of doors, Mana returned her focus to what lied beyond the one she had just destroyed, and took a few steps inside. She found herself inside the start of a long corridor that led off into nowhere. Along the left and right, torches were sparingly placed to illuminate the way. Cobwebs hung over nearly everything, and some mice were crawling around on the floor.

Mana took in the foreboding atmosphere with an excited grin, momentarily forgetting what she had come here for in the first place at the prospect of unexplored territory.

"Cool! Secret passage!" she exclaimed giddily, before slapping her hand over her mouth as she remembered that she was not supposed to be here right now, and why. She gave a final glance back outside to the bedroom door, just to make sure that no one was coming. The door remained closed, and the world outside silent. Mana turned back to the secret passage and steeled herself, clutching her wand in an attempt at some familiar comfort. The wand responded to its master's touch, and began to emit a soft glow from the orb at its top, illuminating the corridor ahead fully. Mana noticed this and grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks." she replied, even though she knew that it was her doing more so than her wand's. She tread forward on soft footsteps, to make as little noise as possible, and to avoid stepping on any mice that may scurry into her path. The deeper she got, the more she allowed herself to start asking questions. The first was if Isis knew about this secret passage. It seemed obvious, considering it lead to her room, but if she _didn't_... maybe someone could have snuck in that way and kidnapped her like that. She came to the end of the corridor after walking for a good minute or two, and came to a diverging path, one going left, and the other right. she looked down, and saw one of the mice running past her feet. It went left, so she followed it. She then came across an indentation in one of the walls that looked like a door, but when she tried to push it, it wouldn't open for her. She found out why when she looked around the wall to the left of it, where another cut out hole, big enough for a person's hand to fit in, was at eye length, and there was a vertical break in the wall right next to it that implied another door. Once again, it was too heavy for Mana to move, but she understood how the doors worked now: Place your hand inside the little hand-sized hole, and pull the door until it was placed in the larger indentation in the wall to its right. She didn't want to risk blasting another door open to see where this one led, but she really wanted to know! Maybe there was some hole she could look through, like the one she and Atem had made in one of the rooms adjacent to the throne room to spy on the Guardian's meetings? She looked around the wall, and found what she was looking for right on the "door". Unfortunately, it was about a head too high for her, so she stood on the tips of her toes, barely able to see through the very bottom of the small speck of a hole. She saw another bedchamber, or at least somewhere with an equal amount of furniture to it. The way things were set up... she jumped up and down a few times, just to see if she was getting the right image. Yes, it looked exactly like Master Akil's old chambers, the one that Mahad was supposed to be using now. She smirked, thinking that she might have just found a great way to spy on her brother, even if she couldn't open the door to his room.

She continued walking, and when she came to another crossroads, she took a path without even having to think about it. If going left had led to Mahad's room... then that meant now she was heading to Seto's chambers. Sure enough, she shortly found herself at another door, this one leading to Seto's room, and another peephole to prove her hunch. She continued walking, and found herself at a door leading to each of the Guardian's rooms, each containing a hole to look through, except for Nephthys's, where the peephole looked as though it had been blocked over from the other side. Barring coincidence, it looked like Nephthys knew about this system of tunnels.

There was much more to explore, and a flight of stairs led her through some corridors that had secret doors leading to the kitchen, the throne room, the library, the magician's wing, and a few other places on the first floor. Since the layout of these passageways was built around the already known hallways and rooms of the palace, Mana was finding it easy to navigate her way through the passages. So when she reached a flight of stairs travelling even lower, she knew that they led towards the dungeon, where prisoners were kept. Mana had never been down to the dungeons before, but this would only technically lead _around_ the dungeons, and not actually through it. So, she continued uninhibited. She took one route and immediately found herself at a dead end, in the form of a cave-in. She was surprised she hadn't found something like this sooner, but it didn't deter her from turning around and pursuing the second path she could take. She rounded a corner, and came to a place that branched into three separate paths for her to take. She picked left, and then came to another four-way branching path. Realizing that she could probably get lost now, she decided to go right, and then choose left at the next intersection. That way, if she got lost and needed to backtrack to the stairs again, all she would have to do was go left, then right, then left, then right, left, right, and so on to get back.

She followed this strategy for about another four passages, two of which only had two branching paths to choose between, and found herself going down a corridor that turned immediately to the right. As she turned the corridor, she bumped into a shadowed figure, who jumped into an attacking stance upon seeing her. Mana screamed and fell onto the ground, her wand falling from her hand and the light she had been creating from it extinguished. She looked up, and saw a second shadow come into her sight, leaning over her and reaching out to her with an arm. Mana closed her eyes tightly and raised her trembling hands in defense, not sure how far her wand might have fallen from her and too scared to think to defend herself anyway.

"Aah, p-please, don't hurt me!" she squeaked.

The hand of the shadow reached her shoulder, and Mana could feel that it was warm and gentle, not threatening at all. She opened her eyes and looked up at the figure to find a familiar face looking down at her with a warm, comforting smile.

"L-L-Lady Nephthys!" Mana exclaimed.

Nephthys chuckled. "Mana, you nearly gave me a fright, dear. I have to say, it's not something too many people are capable of, so well done."

Still a bit shocked, Mana looked to Nephthys's left to see what that other shadow had been, and widened her eyes when she realized it had been one of Nephthys's Shadow Creatures. It was doglike in appearance, black with silver crescents around its eyes and a similar crest on its chest. Two fins like fishes hung off its back like wings, transparent and blue toned, and another fin at the tip of its tail had a similar color. Its hind legs also had these fins, and around its neck was a high silver collar that reached upwards towards its head, sort of cone-like. It stood on all fours like an ordinary dog, but was bigger than her, and about the same height as Nephthys, if not a bit taller. The creature was very regal looking, elegant and proud. It could be Nephthys's ka, but Mana knew that Nephthys never used her spirit ka on any condition, and the only people that had ever seen it was her father and the former Pharaoh. So this was probably just one of the creatures she had summoned from her tablet shrine, rather than from her soul.

Nephthys looked back at her creature and gave another light laugh. "Forgive me for startling you, Mana." she spoke again, "I had my Piscean Hound out for protection down here. It is a relief that all I did was give you a fright." Mana laughed shakily at this observation, understanding full well what _any _Shadow Creature could do to her, much less one of Nephthys's. As a show of apology, the older woman raised her Diadiankh and dismissed her Hound back to her tablet shrine, and helped the young girl up to her feet.

"Thanks." Mana said, shaking the dust off her skirt where she had landed, "But what are you doing down here?"

"Me?" Nephthys asked, "I am here on Atem's orders, to seal up these secret passages." she explained, "It would be more appropriate of me to ask what _you _are doing down here, Mana."

Mana jumped, and immediately sputtered incoherencies, trying to stall while she could come up with an excuse as to why she was here, made even harder while being observed by Nephthys's amused, catlike grin. Of course, she was justified to be down here; being a high priestess, she could do whatever she liked, whether she had Atem's consent or not. But her? Not only would she get in trouble for going into Isis's room, destroying the castle (again!), and wandering through secret tunnels that she probably wasn't supposed to know about while a killer was on the loose, but Nephthys would probably also tell Mahad, and then she would be in even _bigger _trouble!

"I...uh... well, you see, the thing is-!" Mana kept trying to explain while rubbing the back of her head nervously. Nephthys ignored her attempts at an answer to walk past the magician in training and kneel down to pick up her wand from the ground, rubbing it thoughtfully with her hand. She turned back to the younger girl.

"How about this, Mana?" Nephthys offered, "If you tell me the truth and promise to never come down here again, then I promise that I will not tell your brother."

This compromise gave Mana some courage, and she quickly answered without any problem. "I went to Isis's room, because I wanted to help try to find some clues to where she might be or who had taken her, and, just, anything really, and I found this door leading to these tunnels, and I went in to see where they lead, and I found out they go all over the palace, but I didn't know if anyone else knew about them, which I suppose is kind of stupid, considering if they're in the castle then _someone _has to know about them, so I went looking around, and then I found you, and got knocked down and thought I was going to die, and then I saw that it was just you and one of your monsters, so...!"

"I think I understand the situation." Nephthys interjected, placing a hand on Mana's shoulder to cut off her long-winded tale. Her serene face grew serious then, however. "But now you have to promise me that you will never come down here anymore, alright. The only reason that I am even down here now is because I came to seal off all the passages so no one would find them."

"But this might have been what the Thief King used to get into Isis's room and kidnap her!" Mana reasoned, "We should keep them open-!"

"I understand your reasoning, Mana." Nephthys agreed, "As did Atem. However, this is also the very reason that he gave the order to have them closed off. If this is what the Thief King has been using to enter the Palace undetected, then there's a good chance that if left open, he could do the same to any of the other Guardians, or worse."

"But, Isis...!" Mana persisted.

"The farthest these tunnels lead is to the very outskirts of the city. There is no way that they can be used to track Isis's kidnapper, I am sorry to say." Nephthys explained, "We cannot change what has been done, but we _must _do what will prevent such an incident from repeating itself." Nephthys bent down to Mana's eye level and smiled, "We _will _get Isis back, there is no doubt. However, for now we must cut off the Thief King's potential access route."

"...Ok." Mana conceded, and the Millennium Headdress Wielder squeezed her shoulder in comfort. "Can I help you close off the tunnels, then?"

"Dear Ra, I think not." Nephthys said firmly but still smiled. "It's bad enough that you were in these tunnels for as long as you have been, alone on top of it. At least I had one of my Creatures to protect me in the event of a cave-in, but you still need to learn your basic magic. I thank Hathor that I was down here when you chose to wander."

"They looked safe to me." Mana pouted, referring to the tunnels.

"Looks can be deceiving, as I'm sure you have been told before." Nephthys responded, "Now Mana, I would like you to follow me out of here. I will take you back to your room, and you had best hope that your brother has yet to notice your disappearance, or you may still get in trouble for sneaking out of your room."

"You said you wouldn't tell!" Mana protested, but followed next to Nephthys nonetheless, and took her wand back as she offered it to her.

"I won't tell him of where you went to, but if he knows that you left your room then there is nothing I will be able to say in your defense in that regard."

Oh, I guess you're right." Mana agreed, "so, we should probably get back as soon as possible, huh?"

Nephthys chuckled. "Indeed." For the longest time, they stayed silent, with Mana thanking the gods that she was getting in the least amount of trouble possible with Nephthys, and the woman in question thanking that Mana, although having done something extremely reckless and potentially life-threatening, was still alive and spared from being either lost, caved-in, or another option that was much worse altogether.

"Mana." Nephthys finally spoke up again, and the girl jumped and turned to look up at her. "Would you like to know more about these caves?"

"Uh, sure." Mana agreed, really just wanting to hear Nephthys talk to her. These tunnels were really starting to scare her a bit, with the spiders and mice. Not to mention that she was starting to hear things, like someone singing.

"These tunnels are as old as the palace, as you could probably expect." she began, "They were created at the request of Atem's ancestors, his great-great-great grandfather, I believe."

"That's a lot of greats." Mana thought absently, causing Nephthys to giggle a bit.

"The lineage of the royal family is long, after all." she reminded her, "But anyway, these tunnels were created with the pharaoh's consent, and the architects and the slaves that made it took the knowledge of their existence to their graves. This way, only those of the royal family would know of their existence. I'm sure some people have come across them every once in a while, myself being one of those when I was a little girl, but it was meant to be known to only the Pharaohs and their children, used to escape from the palace and the city should the need ever arise. They were used frequently, though thankfully only a small amount of those instances were to escape from danger. Most kings used them as a quick way around the palace, to avoid the servants and guards. Or their court if they wished to escape from a council meeting."

Mana laughed at this little joke. "So I guess Atem uses these to 'disappear' sometimes, huh?" she asked, but Nephthys shook her head.

"Until recently, I don't think he knew they existed. They were closed off before even his father was born. Atem's great-uncle, that would be his grandfather's brother, was killed at a young age while exploring these tunnels unaccompanied by his father. The boy had been caught in the middle of a crumbling tunnel, and was crushed under the ceiling as it caved-in on top of him. They found his body two days later. He had been the oldest, and had hence been the heir to inherit the throne, which is why Atem's grandfather was named successor to the throne. But his great-grandfather had been so devastated by the death of his eldest son, he had the tunnels closed off so there would be no further accidents, least of all to his other children."

"Aww, that's so sad." Mana muttered, and Nephthys agreed with a nod.

"Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen knew about the tunnels, and naturally Atem was told of their existence as well, but to my understanding, they both assumed that they had been closed off. My guess is that some passages were left open to use as an emergency evacuation only, and someone managed to find a way in and unseal the sealed-off doors."

"Is that what you found? One of the unsealed doors?" Mana asked.

Nephthys smiled, fondly remembering the first time she had found her way into here. "I beat you by at least seven years, if memory serves me." she told her, "I was six, and I was in my room, playing with Pharaoh. I lost sight of him, and I found that he had gone through a hole in the wall. I crawled in after him, and found my way into these secret corridors, and I explored them, but I didn't go very far. I gave Father and Mother an awful fright; they had some workmen come in and break my wall down, rather than let me crawl out the way I got in. Mother had picked me up and started crying, and Father... Father laughed and told me that I would never be allowed to do anything ever again, because Mother would never let me out of her sight. In a way he was right, but he never let me leave his sight, either."

She paused to laugh at this, but continued on, "I actually had to sleep with my brother for the next week while they built my wall back again."

_That must be why the peephole to her room is closed up. _Mana decided, _and why the stone seemed a bit newer_.

"Anyway, that is why I do not want you running around down here." Nephthys said, going back to what she had said before about Atem's great-uncle. "I'm sure that you could return down here several times more and never have any problems, but there will most certainly be that one time that you do find yourself trapped and without help. That is the one time that we need to avoid happen, and since you never know when it will be..."

"No, I understand." Mana assured her, "And I promise that I won't come down here anymore, really."

"Thank you." Nephthys sighed in relief.

"So, Master Karim knows about these tunnels too?" Mana asked.

"Yes, Father does." Nephthys answered, "I wouldn't recommend you mentioning them to him or any of the other Guardians though, seeing as you shouldn't know they exist."

"Oh, right! No, I'm not going to tell anyone!" Mana exclaimed. "I mean, as long as _you _don't tell Mahad I was down here!"

Nephthys giggled, "Of course, just as I promised."

They had made it out of the tunnels and were back in Isis's room. Mana ran out first, and was curious as to why Nephthys had brought them back here rather than go somewhere else. Many of the other rooms that the tunnels led out to had been empty. Nephthys walked out and inspected the damage done to the wall, tsking at the rubble on the ground.

"My, you made a mess of this particular entrance, Mana." Nephthys observed.

"We came back here just for you to inspect the damage?!" Mana yelled.

"Well, we can't have this place a mess." Nephthys reasoned, "Watch closely, and I'll show you how to fix a demolished wall."

Mana groaned. "Do you have to use such harsh words to describe it?" she asked, her face turning red.

"Ah, I apologize. I didn't mean to be rude to you, darling." Nephthys said, raising her right hand, "Watch closely, and I'll show you how to... _improve _upon a _slightly damaged _structure."

Mana bowed her head as she turned more crimson, "Now you're just _trying_ to make me feel better!" she retorted, but Nephthys didn't respond to this, instead waving her hand and reciting an incantation. In a matter of a minute, the wall had rebuilt itself, good as new, with no indication that any damage had ever befallen it. Mana looked up, amazed at the priestess's work.

"Wow; amazing!" she gushed with wide, admiring eyes. Nephthys only laughed.

"I'd explain it to you, but we really need to get you back to your room for now." she said, "Oh, and I will also have you unfreeze the guards outside before we return and apologize."

"Ok..." Mana began, "Wait, how did you know that I...?"

"When Isis told me that you had learned how to use the freezing spell properly, I knew that you would be exploiting it from now on. What better way for you to sneak in here than to freeze the guards?"

Mana scowled, and began walking towards the door. "You know Nephthys, sometimes I don't like how you're so smart!"

She only smiled and replied, "Do not loathe my bounty of knowledge, Mana. I have many other traits about me that are far worse."

Mana scoffed. "Name one."

Nephthys followed Mana, looking down as her smile turned bitter, "I am kind."

Mana looked up at her with confusion, not understanding how kindness could ever be a bad thing.

Nephthys repeated herself, "I am too kind."

* * *

><p>I know this chapter also ended much the same way as the last chapter as well, with Nephthys giving the final dialogue and whatnot. There was going to be more to this chapter, but I decided to cut it out with the fear that the next chapter might be too short. Actually, this chapter was originally barely 4,000 words long, so I added in the second half with Mana wandering around the secret passages, which was part of another chapter, and instead cut that chapter in half. So basically what I'm saying is, three short chapters have been turned into two longer chapters, and one of those chapters was split in half, with each half going to one of the two chapters. And if that still doesn't make sense, well, it really doesn't have to make sense to anyone but me. All you guys have to do is read and be awesome. You don't even have to favorite or review if you don't want to! Your entire purpose in this is to get free entertainment and be awesome; how great are you?! Here, have some blueberry muffins and a baby panda that looks like Yugi! ...I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.<p>

So anyway, Bakura is assuming the role of the Phantom. Yeah, I know, all your minds have been blown by the sheer level of 'OMG, I ttly ddnt c tht 1 cmng, yo!' going on over here, but there you have it. We get a little insight into his agenda, and some sort of relationship with Nephthys yet to be fully understood as well. Not to mention a little bit of his reasons for liking Isis. That being said, I hope I didn't screw up too much on writing such an important chapter for this story, and I hope that the next one will be even better reading for all of you.

If you thought that this was a good chapter, feel free to tell me so that I can stop overreacting about it not being. If you think the chapter wasn't that good, but like and respect me as a writer enough that you would like to tell me how it could be improved, please do so. I couldn't call myself a good writer, much less a good person, if I didn't take the good with the bad and stride to improve as much as I can, so please show love and support in whatever way you can, and that will inspire me to work harder for all of you. Everybody wins! Can I get another round of muffins and pandas for everyone please?! And while you're at it, throw in an order of two hour-long video compilations of baby kittens being adorable! ...If you couldn't tell already, I'm really loopy right now from a combination of caffeine, being up late writing, and the sheer joy of summer vacation being just around the corner.

So, I don't have too much more I can think to say right now, and I wanna move on to doing something else, so I'll end it here. Don't expect to see more from me in the future, because I'm lazy and a jerk, but pray really, really hard for an update, and maybe Arceus will answer your prayers!

r&r at your leisure.


End file.
